Gamete Fusion: Key Protein Identified
نویسندگان
چکیده
منابع مشابه
Gamete Fusion: Key Protein Identified
Is there a common mechanism of eukaryotic sex? Two recent reports highlight an ancient and widely distributed protein that is key to gamete fusion and is a potential target for malaria vaccines.
متن کاملThe Ancient Gamete Fusogen HAP2 Is a Eukaryotic Class II Fusion Protein
Sexual reproduction is almost universal in eukaryotic life and involves the fusion of male and female haploid gametes into a diploid cell. The sperm-restricted single-pass transmembrane protein HAP2-GCS1 has been postulated to function in membrane merger. Its presence in the major eukaryotic taxa-animals, plants, and protists (including important human pathogens like Plasmodium)-suggests that m...
متن کاملArabidopsis HAP2/GCS1 is a gamete fusion protein homologous to somatic and viral fusogens
Cell-cell fusion is inherent to sexual reproduction. Loss of HAPLESS 2/GENERATIVE CELL SPECIFIC 1 (HAP2/GCS1) proteins results in gamete fusion failure in diverse organisms, but their exact role is unclear. In this study, we show that Arabidopsis thaliana HAP2/GCS1 is sufficient to promote mammalian cell-cell fusion. Hemifusion and complete fusion depend on HAP2/GCS1 presence in both fusing cel...
متن کاملFunction of the Male-Gamete-Specific Fusion Protein HAP2 in a Seven-Sexed Ciliate
HAP2, a male-gamete-specific protein conserved across vast evolutionary distances, has garnered considerable attention as a potential membrane fusogen required for fertilization in taxa ranging from protozoa and green algae to flowering plants and invertebrate animals [1-6]. However, its presence in Tetrahymena thermophila, a ciliated protozoan with seven sexes or mating types that bypasses the...
متن کاملStructure-Function Studies Link Class II Viral Fusogens with the Ancestral Gamete Fusion Protein HAP2
The conserved transmembrane protein, HAP2/GCS1, has been linked to fertility in a wide range of taxa and is hypothesized to be an ancient gamete fusogen. Using template-based structural homology modeling, we now show that the ectodomain of HAP2 orthologs from Tetrahymena thermophila and other species adopt a protein fold remarkably similar to the dengue virus E glycoprotein and related class II...
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ژورنال
عنوان ژورنال: Current Biology
سال: 2008
ISSN: 0960-9822
DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2008.05.007