title: Haloferax volcanii, as a Novel Tool for Producing Mammalian Olfactory Receptors Embedded in Archaeal Lipid Bilayer.
abstract: The aim of this study was to explore the possibility of using an archaeal microorganism as a host system for expressing mammalian olfactory receptors (ORs). We have selected the archaeon Haloferax volcanii as a cell host system and one of the most extensively investigated OR, namely I7-OR, whose preferred ligands are short-chain aldehydes, such as octanal, heptanal, nonanal. A novel plasmid has been constructed to express the rat I7-OR, fused with a hexahistidine-tag for protein immunodetection. The presence of the recombinant receptor at a membrane level was demonstrated by immunoblot of the membranes isolated from the transgenic archaeal strain. In addition, the lipid composition of archaeonanosomes containing ORs has been characterized in detail by High-Performance Thin-Layer Chromatography (HPTLC) in combination with Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time-Of-Flight/Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/MS) analysis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Piazza Giulio Cesare 11, I-70124 Bari, Italy. simona.lobasso@uniba.it.
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lobasso
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Piazza Giulio Cesare 11, I-70124 Bari, Italy. rita.vitale@uniba.it.
authors.forename: Rita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vitale
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Piazza Giulio Cesare 11, I-70124 Bari, Italy. patrizia.lopalco@uniba.it.
authors.forename: Patrizia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lopalco
authors.affiliation: Department of Basic Medical Sciences, Neurosciences and Sensory Organs, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", Piazza Giulio Cesare 11, I-70124 Bari, Italy. angela.corcelli@uniba.it.|Institute for Chemical-Physical Processes, National Research Council (IPCF-CNR), Bari Unit, via Orabona 4, I-70126 Bari, Italy. angela.corcelli@uniba.it.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Corcelli