BLAST: Mortal Kombat & Scorpion
For my protein, I decided to choose...scorpion venom! Of course it's not really native in Washington- more in environments that contain dry areas such as sand and sun, but I thought it was interesting to research about it because it can be fascinating and deathly terrifying.
1. Since there are different types of scorpions, the one that I will be talking about is the Death-stalker scorpion a.k.a Leiurus Quinquestriatus.
(genus) (species)
2. The protein that this deathly scorpion contains is called Chlorotoxin. You can split apart the protein name; Chloro is for the chloride part in the venom that specifically attacks the transmembrane-ion channel of proteins and blocks that channel so no ions such as the chloride can enter the cell membrane. Long story short, chlorotoxin proteins block those channels, which means it can send your brain and body mixed signals that leads to paralyzing your body.
3. The amino acid sequence for Chlorotoxin is really short; only 36 letters...
1 mcmpcfttdh qmarkcddcc ggkgrgkcyg pqclcr
First 10 amino acids translated are:
Methionine, Cystenine, Proline, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Aspartate, Histidine, Glutamine, Alanine, Arginine
4. Reference:
Reference for nucleotide sequence:
Meredith Turnbough, Marcella Martos. "Venom!." ASU - Ask A Biologist. 27 Apr 2012. ASU - Ask A Biologist, Web. 12 Jan 2018. http://askabiologist.asu.edu/venom/scorpion_venom
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| Leiurus Quinquestriatus https://www.reptarium.cz/en/taxonomy/Leiurus-quinquestriatus/9841 |
1. Since there are different types of scorpions, the one that I will be talking about is the Death-stalker scorpion a.k.a Leiurus Quinquestriatus.
(genus) (species)
2. The protein that this deathly scorpion contains is called Chlorotoxin. You can split apart the protein name; Chloro is for the chloride part in the venom that specifically attacks the transmembrane-ion channel of proteins and blocks that channel so no ions such as the chloride can enter the cell membrane. Long story short, chlorotoxin proteins block those channels, which means it can send your brain and body mixed signals that leads to paralyzing your body.
3. The amino acid sequence for Chlorotoxin is really short; only 36 letters...
1 mcmpcfttdh qmarkcddcc ggkgrgkcyg pqclcr
First 10 amino acids translated are:
Methionine, Cystenine, Proline, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Aspartate, Histidine, Glutamine, Alanine, Arginine
4. Reference:
AUTHORS: DeBin,J.A., Maggio,J.E. and Strichartz,G.R.
TITLE: Purification and characterization of chlorotoxin, a chloride
channel ligand from the venom of the scorpion
JOURNAL: Am. J. Physiol. 264 (2 PT 1), C361-C369 (1993)
5. Nucleotide Sequence:
1 atgtgtatgc cttgctttac aacggatcat aatatggcaa agaagtgtaa tgactgttgt 61 ggaggctatg gaaaatgctt tggcccacaa tgtctgtgtc gttga
Reference for nucleotide sequence:
AUTHORS: Ayat,H., Ilkhanizadeh,S. and Ahadi,A.M. TITLE : Direct Submission JOURNAL:Submitted (08-JAN-2011) Genetics, Shahrekord University, Saman Highway, Shahrekord, Chahar_Mahahl 000000, IranOther references:
Meredith Turnbough, Marcella Martos. "Venom!." ASU - Ask A Biologist. 27 Apr 2012. ASU - Ask A Biologist, Web. 12 Jan 2018. http://askabiologist.asu.edu/venom/scorpion_venom
Hooked by the title and stayed for the content. I find it really cool what chlorotoxin does to the body. Wouldn't want to get bit but still pretty cool. Also I think you had the shortest amino acid chain out of our group. overall I like it. I give it a paralyzing sting out of 10.
ReplyDeleteLike Azeem in the first comment, I got interested by your post as soon as I read your title. Even if Scorpion is a good character, I have to say that I prefer Sub Zero lol. Concerning your post on a more serious level, it's real interesting to study venoms in general. I believe that it is incredible how a really small dose of its powerfull venom can kill an organism more than 20 times its own size. In top of that, death by paralysis must be one of the worst way to die.... To conclude, your post was really interesting!
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