title: Molecular cloning of silicatein gene from marine sponge Petrosia ficiformis (Porifera, Demospongiae) and development of primmorphs as a model for biosilicification studies.
abstract: In some sponges peculiar proteins called silicateins catalyze silica polymerization in ordered structures, and their study is of high interest for possible biotechnological applications in the nanostructure industry. In this work we describe the isolation and the molecular characterization of silicatein from spicules of Petrosia ficiformis, a common Mediterranean sponge, and the development of a cellular model (primmorphs) suitable for in vitro studies of silicatein gene regulation. The spicule of P. ficiformis contains an axial filament composed of 2 insoluble proteins, of 30 and 23 kDa. The 23-kDa protein was characterized, and the full-length cDNA was cloned. The putative amino acid sequence has high homology with previously described silicateins from other sponge species and also is very similar to cathepsins, a cystein protease family. Finally, P. ficiformis primmorphs express the silicatein gene, suggesting that they should be a good model for biosilicification studies.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale-Sez, Biochimica e Centro di Eccellenza per le Ricerche Biomediche, Italy.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pozzolini
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sturla
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cerrano
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bavestrello
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Camardella
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Parodi
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Raheli
authors.forename: Umberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Benatti
authors.forename: Werner E G
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giovine
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002403:Cathepsins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D007558:Italy; D023421:Models, Animal; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D021141:Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques; D010802:Phylogeny; D011161:Porifera / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012825:Silicon / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; C112571:silicatein alpha; D002403:Cathepsins; D012825:Silicon