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Presence of a glycine-cysteine-rich beta-protein in the oberhautchen layer of snake epidermis marks the formation of the shedding layer

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Abstract

The complex differentiation of snake epidermis largely depends on the variation in the production of glycine-cysteine-rich versus glycine-rich beta-proteins (beta-keratins) that are deposited on a framework of alpha-keratins. The knowledge of the amino acid sequences of beta-proteins in the snake Pantherophis guttatus has allowed the localization of a glycine-cysteine-rich beta-protein in the spinulated oberhautchen layer of the differentiating shedding complex before molting takes place. This protein decreases in the beta-layer and disappears in mesos and alpha-layers. Conversely, while the mRNA for a glycine-rich beta-protein is highly expressed in differentiating beta-cells, the immunolocalization for this protein is low in these cells. This discrepancy between expression and localization suggests that the epitope in glycine-rich beta-proteins is cleaved or modified by posttranslational processes that take place during the differentiation and maturation of the beta-layer. The present study suggests that among the numerous beta-proteins coded in the snake genome to produce epidermal layers with different textures, the glycine-cysteine-rich beta-protein marks the shedding complex formed between alpha- and beta-layers that allows for molting while its disappearance between the beta- and alpha-layers (mesos region for scale growth) is connected to the formation of the alpha-layers.

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Acknowledgments

The study was largely self-supported (Comparative Histolab) and with funds from the Italian Ministry of Education and Scientific Research (Grant 2008 AXS E-002). The electrophoretic separation and Western blotting were carried out at the Proteome Service Facility in the Department of Biology, University of Bologna (Dr. F. Boschetti).

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  1. Comparative Histolab and Dipartimento di Biologia, Geologia e Scienze Ambientali, Università di Bologna, Bologna, Italy

    Lorenzo Alibardi

  2. Dr. L. Alibardi, Dipartimento di Biologia, Geologia e Scienze Ambientali, University of Bologna, via Selmi 3, 40126, Bologna, Italy

    Lorenzo Alibardi

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Correspondence to Lorenzo Alibardi.

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Alibardi, L. Presence of a glycine-cysteine-rich beta-protein in the oberhautchen layer of snake epidermis marks the formation of the shedding layer. Protoplasma 251, 1511–1520 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-014-0655-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00709-014-0655-7

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