Genome-wide identification, in silico characterization and expression analysis of ZIP-like genes from Trichomonas vaginalis in response to Zinc and Iron K. G. Ferna ´ndez-Martı ´n . M. E. Alvarez-Sa ´nchez . V. E. Arana-Arga ´ez . L. C. Alvarez-Sa ´nchez . J. C. Lara-Riegos . J. C. Torres-Romero Received: 5 April 2017 / Accepted: 12 July 2017 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2017 Abstract Trace elements such as Zinc and Iron are essential components of metalloproteins and serve as cofactors or structural elements for enzymes involved in several important biological processes in almost all organisms. Because either excess or insufficient levels of Zn and Fe can be harmful for the cells, the homeostatic levels of these trace minerals must be tightly regulated. The Zinc regulated transporter, Iron regulated transporter-like Proteins (ZIP) comprise a diverse family, with several paralogues in diverse organisms and are considered essential for the Zn and Fe uptake and homeostasis. Zn and Fe has been shown to regulate expression of proteins involved in metabo- lism and pathogenicity mechanisms in the protozoan pathogen Trichomonas vaginalis, in contrast high concentrations of these elements were also found to be toxic for T. vaginalis trophozoites. Nevertheless, Zn and Fe uptake and homeostasis mechanisms is not yet clear in this parasite. We performed a genome-wide analysis and localized the 8 members of the ZIP gene family in T. vaginalis (TvZIP1-8). The bioinformatic programs predicted that the TvZIP proteins are highly conserved and show similar properties to the reported in other ZIP orthologues. The expression patterns of TvZIP1, 3, 5 and 7 were diminished in presence of Zinc, while the rest of the TvZIP genes showed an unchanged profile in this condition. In addition, TvZIP2 and TvZIP4 showed a differential expression pattern in trophozoites growth under different Iron conditions. These results suggest that TvZIP genes encode mem- brane transporters that may be responsible for the Zn and Fe acquisition in T. vaginalis. Keywords Zinc Á Iron Á ZIP transporters Á Trichomonas vaginalis Á Gene family Á Expression analysis Introduction Trace elements have several roles in living organisms. Some are integral components of enzymes involved in K. G. Ferna ´ndez-Martı ´n Á J. C. Lara-Riegos Á J. C. Torres-Romero (&) Laboratorio de Bioquı ´mica y Gene ´tica Molecular, Facultad de Quı ´mica de la Universidad Auto ´noma de Yucata ´n, Calle 43 No. 613 x C. 90 Col. Inala ´mbrica, 97069 Me ´rida, Yucata ´n, Mexico e-mail: julio.torres@correo.uady.mx M. E. Alvarez-Sa ´nchez Posgrado en Ciencias Geno ´micas, Universidad Auto ´noma de la Ciudad de Me ´xico (UACM), San Lorenzo # 290, Col. Del Valle, 03100 Ciudad de Me ´xico, Mexico V. E. Arana-Arga ´ez Laboratorio de Farmacologı ´a, Facultad de Quı ´mica de la Universidad Auto ´ noma de Yucata ´n, Calle 43 No. 613 x C. 90 Col. Inala ´mbrica, 97069 Me ´rida, Yucata ´n, Mexico L. C. Alvarez-Sa ´nchez Laboratorio de Virologı ´a, Centro de Investigaciones Regionales ‘‘Dr, Hideyo Noguchi’’ de la Universidad Auto ´noma de Yucata ´n, Calle 43 s/n x C. 90 Col. Inala ´mbrica, 97069 Me ´rida, Yucata ´n, Mexico 123 Biometals DOI 10.1007/s10534-017-0034-x