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Fungal ferritins: the ferritin from mycelia of Absidia spinosa is a bacterioferritin
C J Carrano1, R Böhnke, B F Matzanke
1University of Tübingen, Germany. cc05@swt.edu
Abstract:
Two distinct ferritin like iron containing proteins have been identified and isolated from the fungus Absidia spinosa; one from the spores and another from the mycelia. The mycelial protein has been purified and consists of two subunits of approx. 20 kDa. The N-terminal sequences of both subunits have been determined. The holoprotein as isolated contains approx. 750 iron atoms/molecule and exhibits a heme-like UV-Vis spectrum. Based on the heme spectrum and the high degree of sequence homology found, it has been established that the mycelial protein is a bacterioferritin. This is the first example demonstrating the presence of a bacterioferritin in a eukaryotic organism.
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