Abstract

BIOCHEMICAL ANALYSIS AND GENE EXPRESSION PROFILING ON COLLAGENASE PROTEIN IN FIDDLER CRAB

Shoba K.*, M. Manjula Devi and Dr. Mazher Sultana

ABSTRACT

A fiddler crab, sometimes known as a calling crab, may be any of approximately 100 species of semi-terrestrial marine crabs which make up the genus Uca. Fiddler crabs are small, semi-terrestrial crabs; male fiddlers have one claw that is much larger than the other, while females have equal-sized claws. During the day the crabs are dark but at night they become pale. Fiddler crabs are a member of the Ocypode family. Fiddler crabs are omnivorous are highly social animals with a rich behavioral repertoire. The enzyme collagenase is extracted from Uca pugilator and it is estimated by using Lowry’s method. Collagenase is biochemically analysed with SDS-PAGE and HPLC. The activity of the enzyme is assayed and characterized by determining the optimum pH and temperature. The effect of activator and inhibitor on collagenase activity is obtained. Twenty nucleotide and protein sequences from the genus Uca is retrieved from National Centre for Biotechnology Information in fasta format. The gene expression is analysed by using the bioinformatics tool ACUA. Highly expressed genes are selected on the basis of CAI value. Analysis of motif by using the tool Scan prosite. The gene showing hits in Scan Prosite is chosen and the gene ontology is predicted with the help of Amigo. With the results obtained we can create a separate database for Uca. The future studies on this protein may lead to find out more insights.

Keywords: Uca, SDS –PAGE, HPLC, Gene Expression, CAI Value, Motif Analysis.