Full-length sequence of VERL, the egg vitelline envelope receptor for abalone sperm lysin.

摘要: Abstract Abalone sperm use 16 kDa lysin to create a hole in the egg vitelline envelope (VE) by species-specific, nonenzymatic mechanism. To hole, binds tightly VERL (the VE receptor for lysin), giant, unbranched glycoprotein comprising 30% of VE. Binding causes molecules lose cohesion and splay apart creating hole. Lysin represent cognate pair gamete recognition proteins, one male other female, which mediate fertilization. The coevolution such pairs may underlie establishment species-specific fertilization could be component mechanism achieve reproductive isolation hence new species. Here we present full-length cDNA sequence (11,166 bp) from red abalone (Haliotis rufescens). There are 42 amino acids start Met residue beginning first ‘VERL repeat’. Most (9981 bp; 89.4%) consists 22 tandem repeats ∼153 acid that is predicted β-sheet. last repeat followed 353 non-repeat residues containing furin cleavage site (RTRR), ZP domain hydrophobic COOH-terminus with 3′ UTR only 10 nucleotides. 3–22 have been subjected concerted evolution consequently almost identical sequences. Curiously, comparisons species shows 1 2 not since divergence six California