title: Identification and characterization of a ferritin gene and its product from the multicellular green alga Ulva pertusa.
abstract: Iron is an essential element for virtually all kingdoms of life, and especially for primary producers in ocean ecosystems. To date, the molecular mechanism of iron utilization by macroalgae remains largely unknown. To elucidate the strategy of iron acquisition and storage in macroalgae, we focused on the function of the iron storage protein ferritin in the sea lettuce, Ulva pertusa, which has abundant iron content. Judging from the primary structure, U. pertusa ferritin (UpFer) can be classified as a land-plant-type ferritin, which is usually found in plastids. The gene of UpFer was expressed in the peripheral, central and rhizoid parts. Western blot analysis showed that UpFER was present and functioned in processed 26- and 22-kDa forms. Furthermore, recombinant UpFER had iron incorporation activity comparable to other ferritins. These results suggest that ferritin also functions as an iron storage protein as in unicellular algae and land plants.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Marine Biological Function, Division of Applied Biosciences, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
authors.forename: Shin-Ichiro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Morimoto
authors.forename: Taro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Masuda
authors.forename: Itaru
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sugihara
authors.forename: Haruhiko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Toyohara
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D005293:Ferritins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D018628:Gene Dosage; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D007501:Iron / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D044445:Ulva / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D010940:Plant Proteins; D005293:Ferritins; D007501:Iron