This web page was produced as an assignment for Genetics 677, an undergraduate course at UW-Madison
Protein Information
Genderblind
Protein Size: 517 amino acids Accession Number: NP_651536.1 FASTA
SLC7A11
Protein Size: 501 amino acids Accession Number: NP_055146 FASTA
Protein Domains
Genderblind
PFAM
SMART
SLC7A11
PFAM
SMART
Analysis
Both proteins have the same protein domain, Amino Acid Permease 2, which is described by SMART (2) as being located in integral membrane proteins involved in the transport of amino acids into the cell. This all makes sense because that is exactly what both proteins are known to do. The question that is raised by these domains is whether this domain is specific to cysteine/glutamate transport and possibly a sign of similar behavioral changes in the homologs of other organisms. In other words whether or not the Amino Acid Permease 2 domain is specific enough that when the homologs in other organisms are mutated, the same bi-sexual behavior can be seen. It is also interesting to note that the SMART database does not have a protein domain listed for genderblind. This is most likely due to its database not being complete. It does have twelve integral membrane domains which makes sense as the protein is imbedded in the cell membrane.
The Pfam protein families database: M. Punta, P.C. Coggill, R.Y. Eberhardt, J. Mistry, J. Tate, C. Boursnell, N. Pang, K. Forslund, G. Ceric, J. Clements, A. Heger, L. Holm, E.L.L. Sonnhammer, S.R. Eddy, A. Bateman, R.D. FinnNucleic Acids Research (2012) Database Issue 40:D290-D301