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Molecular Cloning of Silicatein Gene from Marine Sponge Petrosia ficiformis (Porifera, Demospongiae) and Development of Primmorphs as a Model for Biosilicification Studies

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Abstract

In some sponges peculiar proteins called silicateins catalyze silica polymerization in ordered structures, and their study is of high interest for possible biotechnological applications in the nanostructure industry. In this work we describe the isolation and the molecular characterization of silicatein from spicules of Petrosia ficiformis, a common Mediterranean sponge, and the development of a cellular model (primmorphs) suitable for in vitro studies of silicatein gene regulation. The spicule of P. ficiformis contains an axial filament composed of 2 insoluble proteins, of 30 and 23 kDa. The 23-kDa protein was characterized, and the full-length cDNA was cloned. The putative amino acid sequence has high homology with previously described silicateins from other sponge species and also is very similar to cathepsins, a cystein protease family. Finally, P. ficiformis primmorphs express the silicatein gene, suggesting that they should be a good model for biosilicification studies.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partially supported by MURST COFIN 1999 to U.B. and by University of Genova funds. We are indebted to Prof. Lorenzo Silengo and to Prof. Giovanni Battista Ferrrara for their helpful advice. We thank Mattia Menta for his technical help with the micrographs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale-Sez, Biochimica e Centro di Eccellenza per le Ricerche Biomediche, .

    Marina Pozzolini, Federica Raheli & Umberto Benatti

  2. Dipartimento per la Gestione del Territorio e delle Sue Risorse, .

    Carlo Cerrano

  3. Dipartimento di Oncologia, Biologia e Genetica, Università di Genova, .

    Anna Maria Parodi

  4. Istituto Giannina Gaslini, Genova

    Laura Sturla

  5. Dipartimento di Scienze del Mare, Università Politecnica delle Marche, .

    Giorgio Bavestrello

  6. CNR-Istituto di Biochimica delle Proteine ed Enzimologia, Napoli

    Laura Camardella

  7. Insitut für Physiologische Chemie, University of Mainz, .

    Werner E.G. Müller

  8. CNR-Direzione Progetto Finalizzato Biotecnologie, Via Leon Battista Alberti 4, 16132, Geneva

    Marco Giovine

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  1. Marina Pozzolini
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  2. Laura Sturla
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  3. Carlo Cerrano
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  4. Giorgio Bavestrello
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  9. Werner E.G. Müller
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  10. Marco Giovine
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Correspondence to Marco Giovine.

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Pozzolini, M., Sturla, L., Cerrano, C. et al. Molecular Cloning of Silicatein Gene from Marine Sponge Petrosia ficiformis (Porifera, Demospongiae) and Development of Primmorphs as a Model for Biosilicification Studies. Mar Biotechnol 6, 594–603 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-004-3036-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10126-004-3036-y

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