Open AccessChange of Cytochrome c Structure during Development of the Mouse
Author(s) -
HENNIG Bernd
Publication year - 1975
Publication title -
european journal of biochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1432-1033
pISSN - 0014-2956
DOI - 10.1111/j.1432-1033.1975.tb02149.x
Subject(s) - cytochrome c , cytochrome , biology , cytochrome b , peptide sequence , amino acid , biochemistry , protein primary structure , coenzyme q – cytochrome c reductase , sperm , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , genetics , mitochondrion , mitochondrial dna , enzyme
The structure of cytochrome c during mouse development is investigated. For this purpose the amino acid sequence of cytochrome c of the adult mouse had to be determined. The structure of cytochrome c of adult differentiated mouse cells differs in two amino acid residues from the known amino acid sequence of rabbit cytochrome c . No indication of different forms of cytochrome c in the adult differentiated cells was obtained. The structure of cytochrome c from 11.5‐day‐old mouse embryos is identical with that of adult mouse tissues. Since germ cells after meiotic division are the immediate precursors of a new individual, the structure of cytochrome c from sperm‐containing mice testes was investigated. By means of chromatography of the cytochrome c and of peptide maps and amino acid analyses of its tryptic peptides, it is shown that mouse testis contains two isocytochromes c in about equal amount. The structure of one of these two isocytochromes c is identical with the structure of the adult‐type cytochrome c of mouse. The testis‐specific cytochrome c , which is assumed to be located in the sperm cells, differs in 13 of its 104 amino acid residues from the adult‐type cytochrome c . From comparison of the primary and the spatial structures of the adult‐type and the sperm‐type isocytochromes c with the known structures of cytochrome c of more than 65 different species it is concluded that the duplication of the cytochrome c structural gene, causing the existence of the two ontogenetic‐specific isocytochromes c in mouse, has occurred early in the evolution of eucaryotes.