Using Bioinformatics to Examine Bmb sequence conservation in fish.

Abstract

Fertilization involves the fusion of the male and female gametes. In many vertebrates this process can be broken down into two main steps: (1) the fusion of the gamete plasma membranes followed by (2) the fusion of the corresponding pronuclei to ultimately form the one-celled zygote. Each of these steps are promoted by proteins embedded in the respective membranes. It has been recently shown that Bouncer (Bncr) protein is required for species specific fusion of the plasma membrane. Furthermore, Brambleberry (Bmb) protein is required for the subsequent fusion of the pronuclei. The objective of this study is to identify conserved and non-conserved regions among the top 20 Bmb homologs in different fish species using a bioinformatics approach. I compare these results to the levels of conservation in Bncr, a known species specific fusogen. Bncr homologs are expected to diverge significantly, even among closely related fish species. As controls, I also include alignment data from both ndc1 and gp210, two components of the nuclear pore complex found in the nuclear envelope. Nuclear pore complex membrane proteins are not expected to diverge significantly among the top 20 homologs of each type. Collectively, these data will serve as a starting point into investigating the possible role of Bmb as a possible species-specific barrier in the process of fertilization.