Concholepas concholepas Ferritin H-like subunit (CcFer): molecular characterization and single nucleotide polymorphism associated to innate immune response

Ferritin has been shown as the principal protein of iron storage and iron detoxification, playing a pivotal role for the cellular homeostasis in living organisms. However, recent studies in marine invertebrates have suggested its association with innate immune system. In the present study, one Ferritin subunit was identified from the gastropod Concholepas concholepas (CcFer), which was fully characterized by Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends technique. Simultaneously, a challenge test was performed to evaluate the immune response against Vibrio anguillarum. The full length of cDNA Ccfer was 1,030 bp, containing 513 bp of open reading frame that encodes 170 amino acid peptides, which was similar to the Ferritin-H subunit described in vertebrates. Untranslated Regions (UTRs) were identified with a 5'UTR of 244 bp that contains iron responsive element (IRE), and a 3'UTR of 273 pb. The predicted molecular mass of deduced amino acid of CcFer was 19.66 kDa and isoelectric point of 4.92. Gene t...