Endogenous Fluorescent Proteins in the Mucus of an Intertidal Polychaeta: Clues for Biotechnology.

ABSTRACT: The vast ocean holds many unexplored organisms with unique adaptive features that enable them to thrive in their environment. The secretion of fluorescent proteins is one of them, with reports on the presence of such compounds in marine annelids being scarce. The intertidal Eulalia sp. is an example. The worm secretes copious amounts of mucus, that when purified and concentrated extracts, yield strong fluorescence under UV light. Emission has two main maxima, at 400 nm and at 500 nm, with the latter responsible for the blue-greenish fluorescence. Combining proteomics and transcriptomics techniques, we identified ubiquitin, peroxiredoxin, and 14-3-3 protein as key elements in the mucus. Fluorescence was found to be mainly modulated by redox status and pH, being consistently upheld in

SUBMITTER: Rodrigo AP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9028460 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature