Characterization of an endoplasmic reticulum-associated silaffin kinase from the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana.

ABSTRACT: The formation of SiO(2)-based cell walls by diatoms (a large group of unicellular microalgae) is a well established model system for the study of molecular mechanisms of biological mineral morphogenesis (biomineralization). Diatom biomineralization involves highly phosphorylated proteins (silaffins and silacidins), analogous to other biomineralization systems, which also depend on diverse sets of phosphoproteins (e.g. mammalian teeth and bone, mollusk shells, and sponge silica). The phosphate moieties on biomineralization proteins play an essential role in mineral formation, yet the kinases catalyzing the phosphorylation of these proteins have remained poorly characterized. Recent functional genomics studies on the diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana have revealed >100 proteins potentially inv

SUBMITTER: Sheppard V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2801245 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature