''Pomacea maculata'' perivitellin-1 (PmPV1) is the most abundant perivitellin found in the

perivitelline fluid The perivitelline fluid is an extracellular fluid found in the eggs of most gastropods and constitutes the main source of nutrition and defense for their embryos. It replaces the egg yolk of other animals, which in snail eggs is reduced to non-nutri ...

from '' Pomacea maculata'' snail eggs. This glyco-lipo-caroteno protein is an approx. 294 kDa multimer of a combination of multiple copies of six different~30 kDa subunits. PmPV1 account >60% of the total

proteins Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, re ...

found in the '' Pomacea maculata'' eggs. PmPV1 is an orthologous of ovorubin and scalarin, sharing most of the structural features with the former protein and cross-reacting with anti- ovorubin

polyclonal antibodies Polyclonal antibodies (pAbs) are antibodies that are secreted by different B cell lineages within the body (whereas monoclonal antibodies come from a single cell lineage). They are a collection of immunoglobulin molecules that react against a s ...

. Like ovorubin and scalarin, PmPV1 is highly glycosylated (~13% w/w) and carries

carotenoid Carotenoids () are yellow, orange, and red organic pigments that are produced by plants and algae, as well as several bacteria, archaea, and fungi. Carotenoids give the characteristic color to pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, corn, tomatoes, cana ...

pigments, indicating that this perivitellin would probably have the

antioxidant Antioxidants are Chemical compound, compounds that inhibit Redox, oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce Radical (chemistry), free radicals. Autoxidation leads to degradation of organic compounds, including living matter. Antioxidants ...

photoprotective Photoprotection is the biochemical process that helps organisms cope with molecular damage caused by sunlight. Plants and other oxygenic phototrophs have developed a suite of photoprotective mechanisms to prevent photoinhibition and oxidative stre ...

aposematic Aposematism is the Advertising in biology, advertising by an animal, whether terrestrial or marine, to potential predation, predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defenses which make the pr ...

and water retention functions described for its orthologous. PmPV1 is a

kinetically stable In chemistry and physics, metastability is an intermediate energetic state within a dynamical system other than the system's state of least energy. A ball resting in a hollow on a slope is a simple example of metastability. If the ball is onl ...

protein that, like most other studied

perivitellins Perivitellins are egg proteins found in the perivitelline fluid of many gastropods. They are multifunctional complexes providing the developing embryo with nutrition, protection from the environment, and defense against predators. Despite the cent ...

from ''

Pomacea ''Pomacea'' is a genus of freshwater snails with gills and an Operculum (gastropod), operculum, Aquatic animal, aquatic gastropod mollusks in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails. The genus is native to the Americas; most species in this ge ...

'' snails, is highly stable in a wide range of pH values and withstands gastrointestinal digestion, characteristics associated with an antinutritive defense system that deters predation by lowering the nutritional value of the eggs. Remarkably, and in agreement with this antinutritive activity, PmPV1 withstands ''in vivo'' digestion, being recovered structurally unaltered from mice feces after trespassing the whole digestive system.

References

Proteins {{Protein-stub