Phosphorylation of elongation factor‐2 from the lepidopteran insect, spodoptera frugiperda

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
In mammalian cells, protein synthesis can be regulated at the level of elongation by the phosphorylation of elongation factor 2 (eEF‐2) by a highly specific Ca2+/calmodulin‐dependent kinase. In this report, we show that eEF‐2 from a cell line derived from the insect, Spodoptera frugiperda, is a substrate for mammalian eEF‐2 kinase and that phosphorylation is Ca2+‐dependent. Furthermore, two‐dimensional peptide mapping shows that the kinase phosphorylates the same sites in Spodoptera eEF‐2 as those phosphorylated in the rabbit protein. However, we were unable to detect an eEF‐2 kinase in Spodoptera cells.