Comparative Proteomic Analysis of Hemocyanins in Dinocras cephalotes and Perla marginata (Plecoptera)

• Published in: Environmental entomology Vol. 40; no. 1; pp. 167 - 171
• Main Authors: Amore, V, Puig García, M.A, Timperio, A.M, Egidi, G, Ubero-Pascal, N, Fochetti, R
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Entomological Society of America 01.02.2011
• Subjects: Animals; arthropods; Cephalotes; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Chromatography, Reverse-Phase; Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; Hemocyanins - analysis; Hemocyanins - chemistry; Hemocyanins - genetics; Insect Proteins - analysis; Insect Proteins - chemistry; Insect Proteins - genetics; Insecta - chemistry; Insecta - genetics; liquid chromatography; messenger RNA; molluscs; Perla marginata; proteins; proteomics; RNA, Messenger - chemistry; RNA, Messenger - genetics; Sequence Analysis, Protein; Species Specificity; Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization; tandem mass spectrometry
• ISSN: 0046-225X; 1938-2936
• DOI: 10.1603/EN10088

Hemocyanins are large oligomeric respiratory proteins found in many arthropods and mollusks. The overall expression of hemocyanin mRNA, revealed by studies on Plecoptera hemocyanin sequencing, has raised the question of whether the protein is expressed or not. In fact, the presence of expressed hemocyanin has only been reported in the literature for one species, Perla marginata (Panzer, 1799). In this paper, we report the presence of hemocyanin and hexamerin proteins in Dinocras cephalotes (Curtis, 1827), a species closely related to P. marginata. To assess the presence of hemocyanin, we used a reproducible and highly sensitive method based on liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry. We conclude that regardless of its putative function (respiratory, immune defense, storage protein), the hemocyanin is actually expressed in species in which its mRNA is present.