A nerve net consists of interconnected neurons lacking a brain or any form of cephalization. While organisms with bilateral body symmetry are normally associated with a condensation of neurons or, in more advanced forms, a central nervous system, organisms with radial symmetry are associated with nerve nets. Nerve nets can be found in members of the Ctenophora, Cnidaria, and Echinodermata phyla, all of which are found in marine environments. Nerve nets can provide animals with the ability to sense objects through the use of the sensory neurons within the nerve net.
The Pribnow box is a sequence of TATAAT of six nucleotides that is an essential part of a promoter site on DNA for transcription to occur in bacteria. It is an idealized or consensus sequence—that is, it shows the most frequently occurring base at each position in many promoters analyzed; individual promoters often vary from the consensus at one or more positions. It is also commonly called the -10 sequence, because it is centered roughly ten base pairs upstream from the site of initiation of transcription.
Luciferin is a generic term for the light-emitting compound found in organisms that generate bioluminescence. Luciferins typically undergo an enzyme-catalyzed reaction with molecular oxygen. The resulting transformation, which usually involves splitting off a molecular fragment, produces an excited state intermediate that emits light upon decaying to its ground state. The term may refer to molecules that are substrates for both luciferases and photoproteins.
Coelenterata is a term encompassing the animal phyla Cnidaria and Ctenophora. The name comes from Ancient Greek κοῖλος (koîlos) 'hollow', and ἔντερον (énteron) 'intestine', referring to the hollow body cavity common to these two phyla. They have very simple tissue organization, with only two layers of cells, and radial symmetry. Some examples are corals, which are typically colonial, and hydrae, jellyfish, and sea anemones, which are solitary. Coelenterata lack a specialized circulatory system relying instead on diffusion across the tissue layers.
Aequorin is a calcium-activated photoprotein isolated from the hydrozoan Aequorea victoria. Its bioluminescence was studied decades before the protein was isolated from the animal by Osamu Shimomura in 1962. In the animal, the protein occurs together with the green fluorescent protein to produce green light by resonant energy transfer, while aequorin by itself generates blue light.
A photocyte is a cell that specializes in catalyzing enzymes to produce light (bioluminescence). Photocytes typically occur in select layers of epithelial tissue, functioning singly or in a group, or as part of a larger apparatus. They contain special structures termed as photocyte granules. These specialized cells are found in a range of multicellular animals including ctenophora, coelenterates (cnidaria), annelids, arthropoda and fishes. Although some fungi are bioluminescent, they do not have such specialized cells.
Biopterins are pterin derivatives which function as endogenous enzyme cofactors in many species of animals and in some bacteria and fungi. Biopterins act as cofactors for aromatic amino acid hydroxylases (AAAH), which are involved in the synthesis of a number of neurotransmitters including dopamine, norepinephrine, epinepherine, and serotonin, along with several trace amines. Nitric oxide synthesis also uses biopterin derivatives as cofactors. In humans, tetrahydrobiopterin is the endogenous cofactor for AAAH enzymes.
Myocyte-specific enhancer factor 2C also known as MADS box transcription enhancer factor 2, polypeptide C is a protein that in humans is encoded by the MEF2C gene. MEF2C is a transcription factor in the Mef2 family.
Cyclic AMP-responsive element-binding protein 3 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the CREB3 gene.
Forkhead box protein D4 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the FOXD4 gene.
ELL-associated factor 2 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the EAF2 gene. It is part of the EAF family of proteins.
Eukaryotic translation elongation factor 1 epsilon-1 is a protein that in humans is encoded by the EEF1E1 gene.
L-aminoadipate-semialdehyde dehydrogenase-phosphopantetheinyl transferase is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the AASDHPPT gene.
Coelenterazine is a luciferin, a molecule that emits light after reaction with oxygen, found in many aquatic organisms across eight phyla. It is the substrate of many luciferases such as Renilla reniformis luciferase (Rluc), Gaussia luciferase (Gluc), and photoproteins, including aequorin, and obelin. All these proteins catalyze the oxidation of this substance, a reaction catalogued EC 1.13.12.5.
Holozoa is a group of organisms that includes animals and their closest single-celled relatives, but excludes fungi. Holozoa is also an old name for the tunicate genus Distaplia.
Coelenteramide is the oxidized product, or oxyluciferin, of the bioluminescent reactions in many marine organisms that use coelenterazine. It was first isolated as a blue fluorescent protein from Aequorea victoria after the animals were stimulated to emit light. Under basic conditions, the compound will break down further into coelenteramine and 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid.
Zing finger protein 644 (ZNF644) also known as zinc finger motif enhancer-binding protein 2 (Zep-2) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ZNF644 gene.
Early growth response protein 4 (EGR-4), also known as AT133, is a protein that in humans is encoded by the EGR4 gene.
Shoshana Wodak is a computational biologist and an organizational leader in the field of protein-protein docking. Wodak was one of the first people to dock proteins together using a computer program.
