AUTHOR=Fattorini Neri , Maier Uwe G. 

TITLE=Targeting motifs in frustule-associated proteins from the centric diatom Thalassiosira pseudonana

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science

VOLUME=Volume 13 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.1006072

DOI=10.3389/fpls.2022.1006072

ISSN=1664-462X

ABSTRACT=The frustule of diatoms has an exceptional structure composed of inorganic and organic molecules. In the organic fraction, protein families were identified whose members are expected to have a complex cellular targeting to their final location within the frustule. Here we investigated for frustule-targeting signals two representatives of the cingulin family, the proteins CinY2 and CinW2; beside an already known, canonical signal peptide, we have identified further regions involved in cellular targeting. By using these regions as a search criteria we were able to identify two new frustule proteins. In addition, we showed that temporal expression determines the final localization of one cingulin. Our results therefore point to a sophisticated cellular and extracellular targeting of frustule components to build the fascinating frustule structure of a diatom.