Sex determination is a critical component of forensic identification, the standard genetic method for which is detection of the single copy amelogenin gene that has differing homologues on the X and Y chromosomes. However, this assay may not be sensitive enough when DNA samples are minute or highly compromised, thus other strategies for sex determination are needed. In the current research, two...

Amelogenin undergoes self-assembly and plays an essential role in guiding enamel mineral formation. The leucine-rich amelogenin peptide (LRAP) is an alternative splice product of the amelogenin gene and is composed of the N terminus (containing the only phosphate group) and the C terminus of full-length amelogenin. This study was conducted to investigate further the role of phosphorylation in L...

The use of noninvasive genetic sampling to identify the sex of wild animals is an extremely valuable and important tool in molecular ecology and wildlife conservation. Sex determination using the amelogenin gene has been conducted in many species because only a single pair of primers is required to amplify both X- and Y-linked alleles. However, this method has not been used in field research wi...

Amelogenin gene (AMEL-X) encodes an enamel protein called amelogenin, which plays a vital role in tooth development. Any mutations in this gene or the associated pathway lead to developmental abnormalities of the tooth. The present study aims to analyze functional missense mutations in AMEL-X genes and derive an association with amelogenesis imperfecta. The information on miss...

It is well-known that amelogenin self-assembles to form nanoparticles, usually referred to as amelogenin nanospheres, despite the fact that not much is known about their actual shape in solution. In the current paper, we combine SAXS and DLS to study the three-dimensional shape of the recombinant amelogenins rP172 and rM179. Our results show for the first time that amelogenins build oblate nano...

INTRODUCTION The amelogenin proteins secreted by ameloblasts during dental enamel development are required for normal enamel structure. Amelx null (KO) mice have hypoplastic, disorganized enamel similar to that of human patients with mutations in the AMELX gene, and provide a model system for studies of the enamel defect amelogenesis imperfecta. Because many amelogenin proteins are present in d...

The secreted, full-length amelogenin is the dominant protein of the forming enamel organ. As enamel mineralization progresses, amelogenin is quickly subjected to proteolytic activity, and eliminated from the enamel environment. Mature enamel contains only traces of structural proteins, including enamelin and the sheath protein ameloblastin. In addition, a proteolytic fragment of amelogenin, kno...

Nucleotide and amino acid sequences of cattle amelogenin, the major protein of forming enamel, were analysed by screening 1547 samples collected from cattle of various breeds. Sequenced was the part of cattle exon six of the AMEL gene (codons from 107 to 186) encompassing so-called hot spot of mutation in the mammals amelogenin gene. The analysis showed the presence of characteristic repeats of...