Análises in silico de DAF-2 e exposição de Panagrolaimus superbus em câmara anóxica de nitrogênio (N2)

Abstract

In silico analysis of DAF-2 and exposure of Panagrolaimus superbus in anoxic Nitrogen (N 2 ) chamber Anhydrobiosis, a term derived from the Greek "life without water", is a curious state of suspended animation into which certain organisms enter in response to extreme desiccation. Currently, organisms representing all kingdoms have already been identified with this ability, including the nematode used in this study, Panagrolaimus superbus. The anhydrobiotic state allows tolerance to a wide variety of physical stresses such as temperature extremes, hyperacceleration, and immersion in gallium. Due to the interesting properties that anhydrobiosis gives to organisms, a better understanding of this phenomenon has aroused the interest of the scientific community. In this sense, a central issue is the characterization of the ametabolic state, still little accepted by the scientific community. In parallel, the daf-2 gene encodes a protein that directs the development of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, its role being essential for anhydrobiosis.Considering the context, this study aims to contribute to a better definition of the metabolism of anhydrobiotic organisms and to investigate the protein encoded by daf-2 in search of possible anhydrobiosis-related molecular signatures. Thus, the anhydrobiont organism P. superbus was kept for one, three, and six months in an anoxic chamber, and we in silico analyzed (e.g., composition, structural modeling, analysis, and alignment of primary and tertiary structures) the DAF-2 protein in anhydrobiont organisms and nonanhydrobionts. The results found suggest that the protein of anhydrobiont organisms is significantly more basic, although it does not present divergences in its tertiary structures.We also demonstrated that the exposure of P. superbus desiccated in an anoxic N2 chamber for one, three, and six months, does not negatively impact its viability, when compared to their respective control group. Therefore, we add new evidence to the hypothesis of ametabolism during anhydrobiosis and we point out the basicity characteristic as something of importance for this interesting state.