Ferritin complexes in Drosophila melanogaster

Insect ferritins store and transport iron. The main Drosophila ferritin is a 24-subunit shell made of equal numbers of heavy-chain homolog (Fer1HCH) and light-chain homolog (Fer2LCH) subunits; unlike mammalian ferritin it is largely made in the secretory pathway and is present in the hemolymph. The heavy-chain subunit carries the ferroxidase centre that oxidises Fe(II) for storage as Fe(III) in the mineral core. Ferritin in the midgut iron cell region takes up dietary iron and is needed for iron export to the rest of the body. A third gene, Fer3HCH, encodes a mitochondrial ferritin expressed mainly in the testis.

MODULE:dmel_ferritin_complexDRAFTCONCRETEProtein Complexmodules/dmel_ferritin_complex.yaml
ferritin complexGO:0070288
FB:FBgg0000649
FlyBase gene group FER: Ferritins
FlyBase release FB2026_03 groups 3 D. melanogaster genes as ferritins (FER); this module models that group.
GO:0070288
ferritin complex
GO term grounding the module as ferritin complex.

Fer3HCH is a heavy-chain-type ferritin targeted to mitochondria; it is modelled as a separate part with no molecular function because its ferroxidase activity is inferred from sequence. The subunit stoichiometry (12 heavy and 12 light chains) applies to the Fer1HCH-Fer2LCH ferritin. Iron import and export transporters and the iron regulatory protein system that controls Fer1HCH translation are outside the module. FlyBase groups realized by this module: FER (FBgg0000649). Participants were generated from the FlyBase gene-group membership and mapped to UniProtKB by projects/FLYBASE_GENE_GROUPS/generate_modules.py from module_specs/dmel_ferritin_complex.yaml. Member genes with a gene review in this repository: Fer1HCH, Fer2LCH, Fer3HCH.

3Nodes
2Parts
0Variant Sets
0Variants
2Annotons
0Connections

Derived QC

Recommended-field compliance

100.0% recommended fields populated

All recommended fields populated.

Module deep research

✗ none found

No MODULE:dmel_ferritin_complex deep-research report alongside the module YAML.

Leaf nodes lacking representative members

✓ every leaf node grounds to a representative protein.

Template conformance

✓ every declared conforms_to bundle matches its template motif.

Function consistency and core coverage

1 gene-function check(s) reflected in core functions · 0 conflict(s) · 0 evidence or coverage gap(s) (1 comparison(s))

Retained noncore functions are reported separately; they do not require promotion to core functions. Support from representative genes does not establish conservation across the whole family. Missing reviews or identifiers leave a claim unverified.

AnnotonParticipantFunctionAssessment
secreted_ferritin_complex/fer1hch Fer1HCH
UniProtKB:Q7KRU8
Complex Unit 		ferroxidase activity
GO:0004322 		Core Supported
The GO molecular function is reflected in core_functions (exact term or a reviewed subclass).

Gene-review completeness (3/3 grounded genes reviewed)

3 complete review(s) · 3 with deep research · 0 missing review · 0 reviewed but lacking deep research

Gene Review Complete Deep research
Fer1HCH Q7KRU8 ✓ ✓ ✓
Fer2LCH Q9VA83 ✓ ✓ ✓
Fer3HCH Q9VYH1 ✓ ✓ ✓

Details

Context
Drosophila melanogasterNCBITaxon:7227
Ferritin complexesProtein Complexdmel_ferritin_complex

Secreted Fer1HCH-Fer2LCH heteropolymeric ferritin and the mitochondrial ferritin Fer3HCH that store iron in Drosophila.

ferritin complexGO:0070288
Context
Drosophila melanogasterNCBITaxon:7227
Part 1: secreted heteropolymeric iron-storage and transport ferritin
Fer1HCH-Fer2LCH ferritinProtein Complexsecreted_ferritin

Annotons

Fer1HCH-Fer2LCH ferritin
secreted_ferritin_complex
Participant: Protein Complex: Fer1HCH-Fer2LCH ferritin
Protein Complex:
Fer1HCH-Fer2LCH ferritinGO:0070288
Active units:
Fer1HCH
Participant: Gene Product: Fer1HCH
Gene Product:
Fer1HCHUniProtKB:Q7KRU8
Role: heavy-chain homolog subunit with the ferroxidase centre
Function:
ferroxidase activityGO:0004322
Fer2LCH
Participant: Gene Product: Fer2LCH
Gene Product:
Fer2LCHUniProtKB:Q9VA83
Role: light-chain homolog subunit
Part 2: mitochondrial iron-storage ferritin
Mitochondrial ferritinProtein Complexmitochondrial_ferritin

Annotons

Fer3HCH Mitochondrial ferritin
mitochondrial_ferritin_fer3hch
Participant: Gene Product: Fer3HCH
Gene Product:
Fer3HCHUniProtKB:Q9VYH1