Metal binding proteins and antifreeze proteins in the beetle Tenebrio molitor : a study on possible competition for the semi-essential amino acid cysteine

In their natural environment animals are confronted by both physical (eg. extreme temperatures, desiccation) and chemical stressors (e.g. pollutants). Stress may be defined as a condition that is evoked in an organism by one or more environmental factors that bring the organism near to or over the e...

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Main Author: Pedersen, Sindre Andre
Format: Doctoral Thesis
Language:English
Published: Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet, Institutt for biologi 2007
Online Access:http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-1504
http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:isbn:978-82-471-0363-0
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spelling ndltd-UPSALLA1-oai-DiVA.org-ntnu-15042013-01-08T13:04:29ZMetal binding proteins and antifreeze proteins in the beetle Tenebrio molitor : a study on possible competition for the semi-essential amino acid cysteineengPedersen, Sindre AndreNorges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet, Institutt for biologiFakultet for naturvitenskap og teknologi2007In their natural environment animals are confronted by both physical (eg. extreme temperatures, desiccation) and chemical stressors (e.g. pollutants). Stress may be defined as a condition that is evoked in an organism by one or more environmental factors that bring the organism near to or over the edges of its ecological niche (van Straalen 2003). Various defence systems exist to cope with different forms of stress and restore homeostasis. Often, production of various proteins or enzymes are involved in these defence systems (Korsloot et al. 2004). Since an organism’s resources may be considered to be limited, the ability to restore homeostasis depends on the severity of the different forms of stress it experiences. It has been proposed that pollutants present in the environment may alter the ability to respond to climatic stressors like e.g. low temperature, desiccation (Holmstrup 2002). This work deals with the possible consequences of combined stress from metal exposure and low temperature in cold hardy insects. Many of these insects produce so called antifreeze proteins that protect them from lethal freezing. Metallothioneins are metal binding proteins that are considered to be important in detoxification when animals are exposed to metals. Metallothioneins and most forms of antifreeze proteins from insects are known to contain unusually high amounts cysteine. Cysteine is considered to be semi-essential, since it must be derived from the essential amino acid methionine (Choen 2004). Induction of one of these two types of proteins may potentially deplete the cysteine pool and thus reduce the capacity to produce the other type. Alternatively, the animals might have evolved other structures to avoid a potential competition for cysteine. The purpose of the present work was to explore these possible scenarios. Paper I and II reprinted with kind permission of Elsevier, Sciencedirect.comDoctoral thesis, comprehensive summaryinfo:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesistexthttp://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-1504urn:isbn:978-82-471-0363-0Doktoravhandlinger ved NTNU, 1503-8181 ; 2007:17application/pdfinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
collection NDLTD
language English
format Doctoral Thesis
sources NDLTD
description In their natural environment animals are confronted by both physical (eg. extreme temperatures, desiccation) and chemical stressors (e.g. pollutants). Stress may be defined as a condition that is evoked in an organism by one or more environmental factors that bring the organism near to or over the edges of its ecological niche (van Straalen 2003). Various defence systems exist to cope with different forms of stress and restore homeostasis. Often, production of various proteins or enzymes are involved in these defence systems (Korsloot et al. 2004). Since an organism’s resources may be considered to be limited, the ability to restore homeostasis depends on the severity of the different forms of stress it experiences. It has been proposed that pollutants present in the environment may alter the ability to respond to climatic stressors like e.g. low temperature, desiccation (Holmstrup 2002). This work deals with the possible consequences of combined stress from metal exposure and low temperature in cold hardy insects. Many of these insects produce so called antifreeze proteins that protect them from lethal freezing. Metallothioneins are metal binding proteins that are considered to be important in detoxification when animals are exposed to metals. Metallothioneins and most forms of antifreeze proteins from insects are known to contain unusually high amounts cysteine. Cysteine is considered to be semi-essential, since it must be derived from the essential amino acid methionine (Choen 2004). Induction of one of these two types of proteins may potentially deplete the cysteine pool and thus reduce the capacity to produce the other type. Alternatively, the animals might have evolved other structures to avoid a potential competition for cysteine. The purpose of the present work was to explore these possible scenarios. === Paper I and II reprinted with kind permission of Elsevier, Sciencedirect.com
author Pedersen, Sindre Andre
spellingShingle Pedersen, Sindre Andre
Metal binding proteins and antifreeze proteins in the beetle Tenebrio molitor : a study on possible competition for the semi-essential amino acid cysteine
author_facet Pedersen, Sindre Andre
author_sort Pedersen, Sindre Andre
title Metal binding proteins and antifreeze proteins in the beetle Tenebrio molitor : a study on possible competition for the semi-essential amino acid cysteine
title_short Metal binding proteins and antifreeze proteins in the beetle Tenebrio molitor : a study on possible competition for the semi-essential amino acid cysteine
title_full Metal binding proteins and antifreeze proteins in the beetle Tenebrio molitor : a study on possible competition for the semi-essential amino acid cysteine
title_fullStr Metal binding proteins and antifreeze proteins in the beetle Tenebrio molitor : a study on possible competition for the semi-essential amino acid cysteine
title_full_unstemmed Metal binding proteins and antifreeze proteins in the beetle Tenebrio molitor : a study on possible competition for the semi-essential amino acid cysteine
title_sort metal binding proteins and antifreeze proteins in the beetle tenebrio molitor : a study on possible competition for the semi-essential amino acid cysteine
publisher Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet, Institutt for biologi
publishDate 2007
url http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-1504
http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:isbn:978-82-471-0363-0
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