What are protein domains? [1]
Domains are distinct functional and/or structural units of a protein. Proteins are composed of one or more protein domains, which are conjoined by disulfide bonds. Often, each domain has a specific function that contributes to the function of the larger protein. Domains are essential for classification for proteins, and can give insight to the function or structure of a novel protein (should a novel protein contain a well conserved domain scientists can infer at least one function of the larger protein).
What domains are found in CLN3?
Numerous websites were used in the search for CLN3 protein domains; Pfam, SMART, InterPro, and PROSITE. All websites were used to confirm consistency of domains across the search engines. The outputs of CLN3 were consistent across the search engines with the CLN3 domain listed. The results of Pfam and InterPro are listed below.
While both InterPro and Pfam showed the CLN3 domain, neither showed definitive results of other domains. This emphasizes the significance of using multiple search engines.
Function of CLN3 domain
This protein as well as the domain have yet to have a definitive function. Thus far, research has influenced scientists to believe that the CLN3 protein domain is a transmembrane protein that passes lipids through the neuronal lysosome membrane.
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How conserved is the Cln3 domain?
Conclusion:
One protein domain was found that was well conserved across homologous protein sequences from several species. This reveals that CLN3 has an important role in lipid transport across neuronal organelle membranes. The conservation of CLN3 also is suggestive of a strong correlation between lipid buildup within neurons and Batten Disease.
References:
[1] EMBL-EBI. (n.d.). What are protein domains? Retrieved from https://www.ebi.ac.uk/training/online/course/introduction-protein-classification-ebi/protein-classification/what-are-protein-domains
Video: https://vimeo.com/2761760
Header: https://hipwallpaper.com/protein-backgrounds/
Figure 1: http://pfam.xfam.org/protein/W9WXN7_9EURO
Figure 2: http://www.ebi.ac.uk/interpro/sequencesearch/iprscan5-S20190315-001457-0470-97032584-p1m
Video: https://vimeo.com/2761760
Header: https://hipwallpaper.com/protein-backgrounds/
Figure 1: http://pfam.xfam.org/protein/W9WXN7_9EURO
Figure 2: http://www.ebi.ac.uk/interpro/sequencesearch/iprscan5-S20190315-001457-0470-97032584-p1m
This web page was produced as an assignment for Genetics 564, an undergraduate capstone course at UW-Madison.