Pikachurin I choose you!

Pikachurin
  1. The protein I decided to search for was Pikachurin, I picked it solely because of the name because it is, obviously, named after the Pokemon Pickachu
  2. The specific protein in question is pikachurin isoform 1 precursor [Mus musculus] Chosen because it is found in the common house mouse and well Pikachu looks kind of like a mouse, not here to argue about Pokemon though. This protein affects the  photoreceptor ribbon synapses in mice in early embryonic stages. Basically it affects eye to brain info transmission.
  3.      1 mdlistfslh flllacslpp gavslrtalr ksgkvgppld iklgalncta fsiqwktpkr
          61 sgssiigytv fysevgsdks lrershnvpv gqdtliteev igdlkpgtey qvsvaaysqt
         121 gkgrlsfprh vttlsqdscl ppaapqqphv lvvsdseval swrpgenegs apiqsysvef
         181 irpdfdkswt iiqerlqmds mvikgldpdt nyqfavkamn ahgfsprswp sntvrtlgpg
         241 eagsghygpg yitnpgvsed ddgsedeldl dvsfeevkpl patkvgnkkf sveskktsvs
         301 nsvmgsrlaq ptsaslhett vaipptpaqr kgknsvamms rlfdmscdet lcsadsfcvn
         361 dyawggsrch cnlgkggeac sedifiqypq ffghsyvtfe plknsyqafq vtlefraeae
         421 dglllycges ehgrgdfmsl alirrslhfr fncgtgiaii isetkiklga whtvtlyrdg
         481 lngmlqlnng tpvtgqsqgq yskitfrtpl ylggapsayw lvratgtnrg fqgcvqslsv
         541 ngkkidmrpw plgkalngad vgecssgicd eascihggtc aaikadsyic lcplgfrgrh
         601 cedafaltip qfreslrsya atpwplepqh ylsftefeit frpdsgdgvl lysydtgskd
         661 flsinmaagh vefrfdcgsg tgvlrseapl tlgqwhdlrv srtakngilq vdkqkvvegm
         721 aeggftqikc ntdifiggvp nyddvkknsg ilhpfsgsiq kiilndrtih vkhdftsgvn
         781 venaahpcvg apcahggscr prkegyecdc plgfeglncq kecgnhclnt iieaieipqf
         841 igrsyltydn pnilkrvsgs rsnafmrfkt takdglllwr gdspmrpnsd fislglrdga

Above is the amino acid coding sequence (first 15 lines)
The first ten amino acids are methionine, aspartic acid, leucine, isoleucine, serine, threonine, phenylalanine, serine, leucine, histidine.

4. Reference:
AUTHORS   Nagaya M, Ueno S, Kominami T, Nakanishi A, Koyasu T, Kondo M,
           Furukawa T and Terasaki H.
 TITLE     Pikachurin Protein Required for Increase of Cone Electroretinogram
           B-Wave during Light Adaptation
 JOURNAL   PLoS ONE 10 (6), E0128921 (2015)

5. Nucleotide Sequence:

1 attgtaattc catctcctgc gggtcgagcc gccctccctc cggcggccag tgcgtccctc
      61 ccctcggctc tcagcgtcca ctccccagcc ccgaaaagcc ttgccgctgc gagcccgctc
     121 cgctcaagca cgccagcttc ccaactgctg ccttgcctcc tcggactccc gagtggctcc
     181 tggttcagct ccctgggtct cccaccttct catcctcgcg tcactggcgt tccccgcgtc
     241 ccccaggaga cgccctttcc ctgcgcgccc gggacttggg gaaactttgc agacgccgtt
     301 ggtgagatgg atttaatctc aaccttctcg ctccatttct tgctcctggc ctgcagcctc
     361 ccacccggcg ctgtgtcact ccgaacggct ctgcgaaaat caggcaaggt gggacctcct
     421 cttgacatca agctgggagc cttgaactgt acagctttca gcatccagtg gaaaacacca
     481 aagcgttctg gtagctccat cattggctac acagtgtttt actctgaggt tggttcagat
     541 aagtccctgc gggagcggtc acacaacgtc ccggttggcc aggataccct aatcactgag
     601 gaagtgattg gagatttgaa gccaggcact gaatatcaag taagcgtagc agcctacagt
     661 cagactggca aggggaggct tagcttccct cgacatgtga ccactttgtc tcaagattcc
     721 tgcctgcccc ctgcagcacc ccaacagcca catgtccttg tggtttccga ttctgaagtg
     781 gccctttctt ggagacctgg agagaatgaa ggaagtgccc caattcagtc ctactctgtg
     841 gaattcatta gaccagattt tgacaagagc tggaccataa tccaagagcg cctgcagatg



Comments

  1. Well, Pikachu is the Electric Mouse pokemon, so I'd say you nailed it with the fact that it looks like a mouse! On a related note, I believe there is also a Sonic Hedgehog gene.

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  2. Hello!
    The Pikachu caught my attention very quickly, so I had to read your blog post! It's fascinating that the scientists who discovered the pikachurin protein decided to name it after Pikachu, who was designed to be a mouse. On a more scientific note, it's pretty neat that this protein plays a significant role in transmitting information from the eyes to the brain. Sometimes I have to remind myself that the relationship between the eyes and brain is so complex - each of them are equally important when it comes to vision! Clearly, pikachurin is very important for mice when it comes to vision and perception.

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  3. Hi Jason,
    Intriguing post!! I have watched this anime when I was a kid but never know why the character looks like that, and it seems like that makes kinda sense for me now haha. Looking at the title of your resource tho, the cone electroretinogram B wave tells why this protein can affect the vision of house mice.

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  4. You did well on your post. When I scrolled down and the name caught my attention. I thought to my self that is there such a protein that similar to Pikachu. Anyway, it’s very interesting that not just the name but the roll it plays in the early stage of the house mouse. It can affect to the eyes and brain of the mouse at very early stage. Thank you for sharing the post.

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