Lipocalins in Arthropoda: Diversification and Functional Explorations

Abstract

The number of sequenced arthropodan lipocalins adds up to over eighty (see Table 1). From our currently fragmented knowledge of arthopodan genomes, the last common ancestor of this phylum is proposed to possess two lipocalins (see Chapter 3). Intra-lineage duplications enlarged the number of lipocalins, with some large family expansions occurring independently in blood-feeding insects and arachnids. Most arthopodan lipocalins share the common signature and structural properties with the rest of the family. They are single modular proteins of around 200 amino acids that fold tightly in a B-barrel with potential for binding small hydrophobic molecules in a central pocket.