Premium
Transport in technicolor: Mapping ATP‐binding cassette transporters in sea urchin embryos
Author(s) -
Gökirmak Tufan,
Shipp Lauren E.,
Campanale Joseph P.,
Nicklisch Sascha C.T.,
Hamdoun Amro
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
molecular reproduction and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.745
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1098-2795
pISSN - 1040-452X
DOI - 10.1002/mrd.22357
Subject(s) - biology , atp binding cassette transporter , transporter , microbiology and biotechnology , efflux , sea urchin , transport protein , membrane transport protein , genetics , gene
SUMMARY One quarter of eukaryotic genes encode membrane proteins. These include nearly 1,000 transporters that translocate nutrients, signaling molecules, and xenobiotics across membranes. While it is well appreciated that membrane transport is critical for development, the specific roles of many transporters have remained cryptic, in part because of their abundance and the diversity of their substrates. Multidrug resistance ATP‐binding cassette (ABC) efflux transporters are one example of cryptic membrane proteins. Although most organisms utilize these ABC transporters during embryonic development, many of these transporters have broad substrate specificity, and their developmental functions remain incompletely understood. Here, we review advances in our understanding of ABC transporters in sea urchin embryos, and methods developed to spatially and temporally map these proteins. These studies reveal that multifunctional transporters are required for signaling, homeostasis, and protection of the embryo, and shed light on how they are integrated into ancestral developmental pathways recapitulated in disease. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 81: 778–793, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc .