Identification and Localization of Proteins Associated with Biomineralization in the Iron Deposition Vesicles of Honeybees (Apis mellifera)
Figure 1
Purification and identification of proteins in IGs and IDVs and production of antibodies against these proteins.
(A) TEM micrograph of purified IGs from trophocytes showing no enclosed vesicle membranes. Scale bar, 100 nm. (B) TEM micrograph of purified IDVs from trophocytes showing IGs in an enclosed vesicle membrane (arrows). Scale bar, 200 nm. (C) SDS-PAGE separation of SDS-soluble proteins from the purified IGs and IDVs. M, markers. IG, iron granule. IDV, iron deposition vesicle. Arrows denote the positions of major protein components (myosin, ATP synthase, actin and ferritin 2). (D) HRTEM micrograph of an IDV in a trophocyte of an adult worker bee. The gray gradient in the IDV indicates the existence of organic matrices. Arrow, the outer membrane of an IDV. Scale bar, 50 nm. (E) Western blot analysis to indicate the specificity of polyclonal antibodies against myosin (260 kD), ATP synthase (55 kD), actin (41 kD), and ferritin 2 (25 kD). IS, immune serum. PIS, pre-immune serum, Bee, total protein extract from worker bee trophocytes, Mo, total protein extract from mouse muscle.