Figure 6. Japanin is a lipocalin.

The mature Japanin sequence was aligned with (A) sequences of mature tick proteins with a resolved lipocalin structure, or (B) with these and additional distantly-related sequences also accepted to be tick lipocalins. In A, key residues identified by Adam and colleagues [47] are shaded, and their nature noted below. Residue characteristics are: hydrophobic = ACFGHILMPVWY; hydrophilic = DEHKNQRSTY; charged = DEHKR; aromatic = FHWY; bulky = EFHIKLMQRWY; small = not bulky. In B, cysteine residues are highlighted green, and the conserved tick lipocalin motif is boxed red.