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Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Functional Complementation Analysis (FCA): A Laboratory Exercise Designed and Implemented to Supplement the Teaching of Biochemical Pathways
Published on: June 24, 2016
A complement component C3-like protein from the tunicate, Styela plicata
D A Raftos1, S V Nair, J Robbins
1Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, North Ryde, Australia. draftos@rna.bio.mq.edu.au
Abstract:
This study identifies a complement component C3-like protein in the solitary tunicate, Styela plicata. Three different polyclonal antibodies raised against C3 molecules from two species (humans and the tunicate, Halocynthia roretzi) were used to identify the C3-like protein in S. plicata hemolymph. The C3 cross-reactive protein is a 170kDa heterodimer composed of polypeptides (116 and 80kDa) that have molecular weights comparable to those of C3alpha and C3beta from other species. Amino acid sequencing and amino acid composition analysis confirmed that the C3-like protein from S. plicata is closely related to C3 from H. roretzi.
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