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sickly smell - February 2010

Words are not the only means of communication. Not only are they specific to the human species but there are many other ways of conveying messages, and – since the beginning of dawn – all kingdoms have shown great imagination in this area. Bacteria exchange information via chemical messages they secrete. Flowers produce scents to attract pollinators. Many animals are capable of turning on a possible partner by exuding pheromones. Releasing all sorts of molecules is one thing, but you also need something on the receiving end to sense them. These are receptors. There are many different kinds of receptors, found in many different tissues or cellular compartments, all of which are there to sense their matching molecule and relay the information further, i.e. the central nervous system in animals. Subsequently, the organism will be instructed to run away, let itself be seduced or avoid spoiled food, for instance. One particularly surprising receptor discovered in the nose of mice – a formyl peptide receptor – seems to have the ability to sniff out disease. (PDF version - 299k bytes)

UniProt cross references

Formyl peptide receptor-related sequence 1, Mus musculus, (Mouse) : O08790
Formyl peptide receptor-related sequence 3, Mus musculus, (Mouse) : O88537
Formyl peptide receptor-related sequence 4, Mus musculus, (Mouse) : A4FUQ5
Formyl peptide receptor-related sequence 6, Mus musculus, (Mouse) : Q3SXG2
Formyl peptide receptor-related sequence 7, Mus musculus, (Mouse) : Q71MR7

mint condition - January 2010

It is very likely that mint – and its close cousin menthol – is one of the most popular flavours or sensations known worldwide. Is there any population left on Earth that hasn’t sucked a mint sweet or chewed on mint gum? Mint is drunk in beverages, and brushed onto teeth. Added to sauces, and put into chocolates. Smeared onto chests and added to paper handkerchiefs. Why is it that mint and menthol are found, one way or another, almost everywhere on this planet? Transport would be an obvious answer. But there is more to it than that. Besides the numerous health benefits, mint – and menthol – have a quality that is readily appreciated by many: freshness. This sensation is the legacy of two kindred proteins – P450 cytochromes – found in mint plants. (PDF version - 241k bytes)

UniProt cross references

Cytochrome P450 71D15, Mentha piperita , (Peppermint) : Q9XHE6
Cytochrome P450 71D18, Mentha spicata , (Spearmint) : Q9XHE8

String of intrusion - December 2009

When I was little, I used to wear little cotton shirts that were knitted by my grandmother. So? Well, onto them she sewed tiny nacre buttons you could never get hold of and which mesmerized me because of the different colours that shone off them depending on how you oriented them in the light. You can still find these buttons today but plastic ones have almost completely replaced them – and some even try to copy the lustre which is so particular to mother of pearl. What is it that makes pearl what it is known for? Aragonite. Aragonite is a calcium carbonate mineral and, very recently, scientists discovered a complex of three proteins in the pearl oyster Pinctada fucata, which seems to be at the heart of aragonite formation and orientation, and hence the famous sheen. (PDF version - 274k bytes)

UniProt cross references

Pearlin, Pinctada fucata, (Pearl oyster) : O97048
Pif80, Pinctada fucata, (Pearl oyster) : C7G0B5
Pif97, Pinctada fucata, (Pearl oyster) : C7G0B5

Darwin's dessert - November 2009

Charles Darwin has been resting in Westminster Abbey since April 1882 and scientists have been wondering ever since what it was that he suffered from for most of his adult life. It is a well-known fact that the famous naturalist steered clear of many official gatherings and was barely able to defend his theory of evolution because of chronic ailments of all sorts which kept him from being the sociable man he may otherwise have been. Many have thought that the origin of his various complaints – which were as diverse as vomiting, severe headaches, palpitations, eczema and flatulence – were purely psychosomatic. Others have suggested that Darwin must have been afflicted by some kind of illness such as Chagas’ disease or, more recently, Crohn’s disease. What everyone seems to agree upon though is that Darwin was definitely suffering from a form of gastrointestinal disorder which may well have involved an inherited lactose intolerance. Lactose intolerance is brought about by the lack of the enzyme lactase which breaks down lactose, thus making it digestible. (PDF version - 60k bytes)

UniProt cross references

Lactase-phlorizin hydrolase, Homo sapiens, (Human) : P09848

in like a shot - October 2009

Making use of a tubular structure to inject something into something else is a widespread practice. Doctors use syringes to inject medicine into patients. Mammals use their reproductive organ to supply their female counterparts with semen. Wasps use their sting to insert venom into their enemy. And Encephalitozoon cuniculi uses a polar tube as a means to infect. E.cuniculi infects species throughout the animal kingdom. It does this by inserting a long tube into the host cell’s membrane and injecting directly into the cytoplasm what it needs to proliferate. E.cuniculi is a parasitic unicellular eukaryote and thus cannot survive on its own. But the pathogen has to be able to recognise its host first. Scientists have discovered one protein – known as ‘spore wall and anchoring disk complex protein EnP1’ – which is found in the area from where the polar tube is thrust, and which is capable of binding to surface molecules on the host cell’s membrane. Thus creating the cell to cell contact needed to trigger off infection. (PDF version - 42k bytes)

UniProt cross references

Spore wall and anchoring disk complex protein EnP1, Encephalitozoon cuniculi, (Microsporidian parasite) : Q8SWL3