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Leyden MR, Michalik P, Baruffaldi L, Mahmood S, Kalani L, Hunt DF, Eirin-Lopez JM, Andrade MC, Shabanowitz J, Ausió J. The protamines of the noble false widow spider Steatoda nobilis provide an example of liquid-liquid phase separation chromatin transitions during spermiogenesis. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.06.04.597381. [PMID: 38895387 PMCID: PMC11185589 DOI: 10.1101/2024.06.04.597381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/21/2024]
Abstract
While there is extensive information about sperm nuclear basic proteins (SNBP) in vertebrates, there is very little information about Arthropoda by comparison. This paper aims to contribute to filling this gap by analyzing these proteins in the sperm of the noble false widow spider Steatoda nobilis (Order Araneae, Family Theridiidae). To this end, we have developed a protein extraction method that allows the extraction of cysteine-containing protamines suitable for the preparation and analysis of SNBPs from samples where the amount of starting tissue material is limited. We carried out top-down mass spectrometry sequencing and molecular phylogenetic analyses to characterize the protamines of S. nobilis and other spiders. We also used electron microscopy to analyze the chromatin organization of the sperm, and we found it to exhibit liquid-liquid phase spinodal decomposition during the late stages of spermiogenesis. These studies further our knowledge of the distribution of SNBPs within the animal kingdom and provide additional support for a proposed evolutionary origin of many protamines from a histone H1 (H5) replication-independent precursor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa R. Leyden
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, USA
| | - Peter Michalik
- Zoologisches Institut und Museum, Universität Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Luciana Baruffaldi
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Susheen Mahmood
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Ladan Kalani
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria BC V8W 2Y2, Canada
| | - Donald F. Hunt
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, USA
| | - Jose Maria Eirin-Lopez
- Environmental Epigenetics Laboratory, Institute of Environment, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA
| | - Maydianne C.B. Andrade
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, 1265 Military Trail, Toronto, ON, M1C 1A4, Canada
| | - Jeffrey Shabanowitz
- Department of Chemistry, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904, USA
| | - Juan Ausió
- Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Victoria, Victoria BC V8W 2Y2, Canada
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