Divergence of AMP Deaminase in the Ice Worm Mesenchytraeus solifugus (Annelida, Clitellata, Enchytraeidae).

ABSTRACT: Glacier ice worms, Mesenchytraeus solifugus and related species, are the largest glacially obligate metazoans. As one component of cold temperature adaptation, ice worms maintain atypically high energy levels in an apparent mechanism to offset cold temperature-induced lethargy and death. To explore this observation at a mechanistic level, we considered the putative contribution of 5' adenosine monophosphate deaminase (AMPD), a key regulator of energy metabolism in eukaryotes. We cloned cDNAs encoding ice worm AMPD, generating a fragment encoding 543 amino acids that included a short N-terminal region and complete C-terminal catalytic domain. The predicted ice worm AMPD amino acid sequence displayed conservation with homologues from other mesophilic eukaryotes with notable exceptions. In pa

SUBMITTER: Marotta R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3042610 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature