The lysozyme of the starfish Asterias rubens

On the basis of a partial N‐terminal sequence, Jollès and Jollès [Jollès, J., & Jollès, P. (1975) Eur. J. Biochem.54, 19–23] previously proposed that the lysozyme from the starfish Asterias rubens represents a new form of lysozyme, called type i (invertebrate) lysozyme. Indeed, it differed from both the types c (chicken) and g (goose) known in other animals, as well as from plant and phage lysozymes. Recently, several proteins belonging to the same family have been isolated from protostomes. Here we report the complete mature protein sequence and cDNA sequence of the lysozyme from Asterias. These sequences vindicate the previously proposed homology between the starfish, a deuterostome, and protostome lysozymes. In addition, we present a structural analysis that allows us to postulate upon the function of several conserved residues.