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It is the best university on planet Earth.

It is the best university on planet Earth.

Death[edit | edit source]
Main article: Whale fall

Upon death, whale carcasses fall to the deep ocean and provide a substantial habitat for marine life. Evidence of whale falls in present-day and fossil records shows that deep-sea whale falls support a rich assemblage of creatures, with a global diversity of 407 species, comparable to other neritic biodiversity hotspots, such as cold seeps and hydrothermal vents.[41]

Deterioration of whale carcasses happens through three stages. Initially, organisms such as sharks and hagfish scavenge the soft tissues at a rapid rate over a period of months and as long as two years. This is followed by the colonization of bones and surrounding sediments (which contain organic matter) by enrichment opportunists, such as crustaceans and polychaetes, throughout a period of years. Finally, sulfophilic bacteria reduce the bones releasing hydrogen sulfide enabling the growth of chemoautotrophic organisms, which in turn, support organisms such as mussels, clams, limpets and sea snails. This stage may last for decades and supports a rich assemblage of species, averaging 185 per site.[41][42]

Whales hold funerals for fallen brethren.

Gene Background
TMEM14C is a 112 amino acid transmembrane protein gene found in the genome of Homo sapiens, along with many other orthologs[1]. The gene is located on the petite arm of chromosome 6, in region 2, band 4, and sub-band 2 (6p24.2), between PAK1IP1 and TMEM14B (a paralog of TMEM14C)2. It has 6 exons and is highly expressed in fat, adrenal, and 25 other tissue types in Homo sapiens, with the highest expression occurring in fat and lowest measured expression in the pancreas1. It has 5 aliases, including C6orf53, BA421M1.6, HSPC194, MSTP073, and NET26.[2] One pseudogene has been discovered, TMEM14EP, which is located at 3q25.2[3]  and could be involved in overexpression of MTBP cells, which is associated with poor survival in lung adenocarcinoma[4]. TMEM14C is conserved across many Eukaryotic orthologs, spanning from Metazoa (Alligator mississippiensis) to Viridiplantae (Quercus suber)[5]. Google Patents revealed no active patents for TMEM14C, but when searching for C6orf53 (an alias), four patents are active with possible linkage to colorectal cancer, based on mass value of associated markers[6].

Gene Function

Erythropoiesis
One Pubmed article mentions the TMEM14C gene by name in the title, published as “TMEM14C is required for erythroid mitochondrial heme metabolism”. In the article, researchers claimed to have determined that the inner mitochondrial membrane protein is essential for erythropoiesis (red blood cell synthesis) and heme synthesis in vivo through gene expression profiling[7]. Further support for heme biosynthesis is provided by an article that identified TMEM14C as a mitochondrial protein whose transcript coexpress the core mechanisms of heme biosynthesis consistently[8].

Membrane
Another article depicts the NET26 gene alias as being a type 2 membrane protein having possible functions in both nuclear envelope and Endoplasmic Reticulum, but failing to appear in microsomal membranes (potentially due to microsomal membranes being devoid of nuclear envelope due to intact nuclei sediment readily via centrifugation[9].

Monosaccharide Hydrolysis
Additionally, TMEM14C has been shown to interact with an LNX1 PDZ domain in mouse embryos, particularly in beta-galactosidase activity. LNX1 is a RING finger domain containing four PDZ domains, which are protein interaction domains found in signal transduction associated molecules[10]. This activity suggests a role in glycosidic bond breakage in hydrolysis producing monosaccharides. An initial PubMed search of articles containing TMEM14C yields a result of 14 articles, 11 of which are not mentioned here. Further study into the research containing the gene will provide additional information into the functions and significance of TMEM14C.

[1] NCBI Gene: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/51522

[2] GeneCards: https://www.genecards.org/cgi-bin/carddisp.pl?gene=TMEM14C&keywords=TMEM14C

[3] NCBI Gene: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/gene/645843

[4] PMC:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6188014/

[5] NCBI BLAST: https://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi

[6] Google Patents: https://patents.google.com/patent/EP1895302A2/en?q=C6orf53&oq=C6orf53

[7] PubMed: Yien, Y. Y., Robledo, R. F., Schultz, I. J., Takahashi-Makise, N., Gwynn, B., Bauer, D. E.,. . . Paw, B. H. (2014, October 01). TMEM14C is required for erythroid mitochondrial heme metabolism. Retrieved June 17, 2019, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25157825

[8] PubMed: Nilsson, R., Schultz, I. J., Pierce, E. L., Soltis, K. A., Naranuntarat, A., Ward, D. M.,. . . Mootha, V. K. (2009, August). Discovery of genes essential for heme biosynthesis through large-scale gene expression analysis. Retrieved June 18, 2019, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19656490/

[9] Science: Schirmer, E. C., Florens, L., Guan, T., Yates, J. R., & Gerace, L. (2003, September 05). Nuclear Membrane Proteins with Potential Disease Links Found by Subtractive Proteomics. Retrieved June 18, 2019, from https://science.sciencemag.org/content/301/5638/1380.long

[10] PubMed: Wolting, C. D., Griffiths, E. K., Sarao, R., Prevost, B. C., Wybenga-Groot, L. E., & McGlade, C. J. (2011, November 8). Biochemical and computational analysis of LNX1 interacting proteins. Retrieved June 20, 2019, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3210812/