title: Genomic and transcriptional analysis of protein heterogeneity of the honeybee venom allergen Api m 6.
abstract: Several components of honeybee venom are known to cause allergenic responses in humans and other vertebrates. One such component, the minor allergen Api m 6, has been known to show amino acid variation but the genetic mechanism for this variation is unknown. Here we show that Api m 6 is derived from a single locus, and that substantial protein-level variation has a simple genome-level cause, without the need to invoke multiple loci or alternatively spliced exons. Api m 6 sits near a misassembled section of the honeybee genome sequence, and we propose that a substantial number of indels at and near Api m 6 might be the root cause of this misassembly. We suggest that genes such as Api m 6 with coding-region or untranslated region indels might have had a strong effect on the assembly of this draft of the honeybee genome.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Zoophysiology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Peiren
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: de Graaf
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Jacobs
mesh_terms: D000485:Allergens / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D052179:Antigens, Plant; D001483:Base Sequence; D001516:Bees / Q000235:genetics*; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D049750:Genome, Insect; D023281:Genomics; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D000485:Allergens; D052179:Antigens, Plant; C428428:Api m 6 protein, bee; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D019476:Insect Proteins; D020033:Protein Isoforms