The allergenic protein Tha p 2 of processionary moths of the genus Thaumetopoea (Thaumetopoeinae, Notodontidae, Lepidoptera): Characterization and evolution.
The allergenic Tha p 2 protein has been extracted recently from the urticating setae of the pine processionary moth Thaumetopoea pityocampa. In the present paper, we test for the occurrence of this protein in other Thaumetopoeinae, with a particular focus on members of the genus Thaumetopoea, as well as unrelated moth species, to better understand the physicochemical properties of the protein, the nature of encoding genes and their evolutionary history. Tha p 2 is encoded by the intronless gene Tha p 2 that is restricted to the processionary moths (Thaumetopoeinae, Notodontidae, Lepidoptera). Most of the species present two isoforms of Tha p 2 that can be interpreted as the result of heterozygosity in the single gene. The only exception is represented by Thaumetopoea wilkinsoni, in which 20 different isoforms occur in a single specimen, leading to the conclusion that, at least in this species, multiple copies of Tha p 2 exist. Serine, glycine, cysteine and leucine are abundant in Tha p 2, a protein well conserved among processionary moths. The predicted secondary structures of Tha p 2 indicate the presence of 3 α-helices and six β-barrels. Finally, the evolution of the gene and the protein was characterized by a combination of positive and negative selection, with the latter being more evident.
Department of Agronomy Food Natural Resources Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Agripolis, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy. Electronic address: laura.berardi@studenti.unipd.it.
Laura
L
Berardi
Department of Agronomy Food Natural Resources Animals and Environment (DAFNAE), University of Padova, Agripolis, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy. Electronic address: andrea.battisti@unipd.it.
Andrea
A
Battisti
Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science (BCA), University of Padova, Agripolis, 35020 Legnaro, PD, Italy. Electronic address: enrico.negrisolo@unipd.it.
Enrico
E
Negrisolo
D000485:Allergens / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009036:Moths / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D000485:Allergens; D019476:Insect Proteins
Allergenic protein Tha p 2; Molecular evolution; Processionary moths; Secondary structure prediction; Thaumeotopoeinae; Thaumetopoea