Organization and promoter analysis of a tiger shrimp Penaeus monodon single WAP domain-containing protein gene

The main function of the single whey acidic protein domain (SWD)-containing protein in shrimp is unknown. To elucidate the function of the SWD-containing protein in vivo, the SWD-containing protein gene was isolated and characterized. A 9.3-kb shrimp SWD-containing protein gene, and a 3.9-kb 3′-flanking region. The shrimp SWD-containing protein gene contained three exons and two introns. Different fragments of the shrimp SWD-containing protein 5′-flanking region were transfected into HeLa cells. The promoter activities were assayed by basal human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG), luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LRH), and gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) treatments. The in vitro actions of the SWD-containing protein promoter expression pattern were studied by transfection of an SWD-containing protein promoter (1 kb)-driven green fluorescent protein (GFP) encoding the GFP cDNA transgene into the HeLa cell line, which was then microinjected into zebrafish Danio rerio embryos. These results indicate that the shrimp SWD-containing protein promoter might play an important role in gene regulation of sex hormones in mammalian cell lines and in gene regulation of developmental stages in zebrafish.     

杂色鲍HSP90基因启动子的功能分析

为探索启动子在热休克蛋白90表达调控中的作用,本研究在课题组已有杂色鲍HSP90基因cDNA的基础上,通过Genome walking、Tail-PCR和常规PCR等技术克隆获得该基因的5′调控区序列。在翻译起始位点(ATG)和第一外显子(长度94 bp)之间有一个809bp的内含子,第一外显子之前的5′调控区共2800 bp,从预测的转录起始位点(A)起,共2811 bp。在转录起始位点(A)上游–30 bp处存在TATA box。潜在的转录因子结合位点包括ATF、TBP、Sp1、Oct-1、C/EBPalpha、NF-1、NF-κappa B、GATA-1、Sox-2等。CpG岛预测软件分析其含1个CpG岛,长度为131 bp。实验构建了8个启动子缺失片段的萤火虫荧光素酶表达载体,通过瞬时转染293T细胞并进行双荧光素酶报告基因活性检测,确定杂色鲍HSP90基因核心启动子区位于–98~83 bp。在–624~–539 bp,Oct-1、C/EBPalpha、NF-1这3个转录因子都起到一定的抑制作用。     

一种免疫诱导型鲤启动子的克隆与功能分析

为发掘适用于基因工程抗病育种的鱼类启动子,通过实时荧光定量PCR实验对鲤Rab GTP酶(Ras-associated binding-GTPases 1a3,Rab1a3)基因的表达模式进行了分析,证实该基因在鳃、头肾等与机体免疫防御功能密切相关的组织内转录水平较高,且免疫激活后转录显著增强,符合基因工程抗病育种所需的外源免疫基因转录模式。从鲤细菌人工染色体文库中,使用Rab1a3基因特异引物筛选获得包含该基因区域的文库克隆,测序获得该基因完整序列,以及上下游调控序列。通过生物信息学手段,预测到长度为1014 bp的鲤Rab1a3基因启动子序列,该启动子不具有典型的TATA盒或CpG岛特征,存在多个免疫相关转录因子结合位点。在草鱼肾组织细胞系内验证该启动子活性,结果显示,绿色荧光蛋白基因和萤火虫荧光素酶基因都能够在该启动子驱动下表达,证实该片段具有启动子活性,且启动子活性在受到免疫诱导后增强,双荧光素酶报告基因检测结果显示,该启动子活性在免疫刺激后增强至免疫刺激前的8.67倍。研究表明,鲤Rab1a3基因启动子有望被开发成为免疫诱导型的基因工程元件,驱动外源免疫基因在鱼体内适时表达,抵御外界病原感染,同时避免非必要条件下的过度表达形成生长负担。     

Construction of an expression vector containing a β-actin promoter region for gene transfer by microinjection in red sea bream <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pagrus major</Emphasis>

ABSTRACT:   Transgenic technology has been widely applied to a variety of freshwater fish species. However there are few reports on the use of this technology in commercially important marine species. In this study, the construction of expression vectors containing the β-actin promoter region for use in the red sea bream Pagrus major , a species of considerable importance to the aquaculture industry in Japan is reported. The β-actin gene was cloned from a red sea bream genomic DNA library. Recombinant plasmids were constructed by linking the 5' flanking region of the β-actin gene to the green fluorescent protein reporter gene, followed by the poly A signal sequence of simian virus 40 or the 3' flanking region the β-actin gene. Expression of these constructs was examined following microinjection into zebrafish and red sea bream embryos, and compared to that of the expression vector pXI-GFP driven by the Xenopus elongation factor 1α. The results indicated that the construct consisting of the β-actin 5'-and 3' flanking regions was the most efficacious. In future studies, it is planned to investigate the efficient condition for integration into chromosomes of the transgene.     

In vivo screening of zebrafish microRNA responses to bacterial infection and their possible roles in regulating immune response genes after lipopolysaccharide stimulation

Micro (mi)RNAs are abundant small noncoding RNAs found in plants and animals, the regulatory functions of which are not fully understood in fish. To identify potential miRNAs, we screened an miRNA microarray with total RNA from zebrafish infected with Vibrio harveyi and another from uninfected zebrafish. Six miRNAs were obtained from the microarray screening. We studied miRNA expression patterns of 2 miRNAs (miR-122 and miR-194) after bacterial infection of transgenic zebrafish (containing tilapia hepcidin (TH)2-3) and non-transgenic zebrafish from which the 2 miRNAs were obtained from the microarray experiment. The results indicated that miR-122 and miR-194 were higher in PBS-injected zebrafish compared with TH2-3 zebrafish or wild-type (WT) zebrafish after V. harveyi infection. Overexpression of miRNAs (miR-122, miR-192, and miR-194a) was seen in zebrafish liver (ZFL) cells after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) treatment and in untreated fish. Our results showed that after 24?h of doxycycline treatment without LPS stimulation, interleukin (IL)-22, lysozyme, toll-like receptor (TLR)1, TLR3, TLR4a, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α gene expressions were, respectively, upregulated by ~14-, 22-, 2.2-, 13-, 200-, and 38-fold in miR-122-transfected compared with non-transfected (WT) ZFL cells. In cells transfected with miR-192 and treated with LPS after 8-12?h, IL-22, lysozyme, TLR1, TLR3, TLR4a, and TNF-α expressions significantly differed between WT and miR-192-overexpressing ZFL cells. However, we observed significantly higher IL-22 expression levels after 12?h of LPS treatment in miR-192-transfected ZFL cells compared with non-transfected cells. In contrast, IL-22, lysozyme, and TNF-α were markedly upregulated (>100-fold) after miR-194a transfection and overexpression in ZFL cells and treatment with LPS. Our cloning and expression analyses indicated that miR-122, miR-192, and miR-194a play important roles in zebrafish immunology.     

Isolation of dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) promoters in Mugil cephalus

This paper reports the isolation of two putative D₂R promoters from grey mullet, one 5′ flanking and the other an intronic sequence immediately upstream of the first coding exon. Promoter activity of the intronic sequence was confirmed in vitro through functional analysis using luciferase as reporter gene. The functional characteristics of the region flanking the 5′-UTR is currently under investigation.     

Molecular characterization and expression pattern of insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) in common carp, Cyprinus carpio

A full-length cDNA encoding the insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) was cloned from the liver of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) by RT-PCR. The IGFBP-3 cDNA sequence is 1,680 bp long and has an open reading frame of 882 bp encoding a predicted polypeptide of 293 amino acid residues. The deduced amino acid sequence contains a putative signal peptide of 25 amino acid residues resulting in a mature protein of 268 amino acids. A single band of approximate 1.9 kb was found in liver by Northern blot analysis. IGFBP-3 mRNA was observed in all regions of brain with high levels. In peripheral tissues, high levels of IGFBP-3 mRNA were found in retina, red muscle, liver, heart, posterior intestine, spleen, and testis. Relatively lower levels were found in white muscle, kidney, thymus gland, and ovary, while in head kidney, blood, skin, gill, middle intestine, and anterior intestine, the IGFBP-3 mRNA levels were much lower. IGFBP-3 mRNA was first detected in the blastula stage with significantly high level. The level sharply decreased in gastrula stage, and it became to increase in the following stages. During the reproductive cycle, the abundance of IGFBP-3 mRNA significantly decreased between the recrudescing stage and the matured stage in ovary, although in testis, IGFBP-3 mRNA expression level did not exhibit a significant change. The mRNA expression profiles in the present study imply that the IGFBP-3 may play important physiological functions in common carp development and reproduction.     

Insulin-like growth factor binding protein-2 (IGFBP-2) in Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus: molecular cloning, expression patterns and hormonal regulation during metamorphosis

In this study, we cloned and characterized cDNA sequences of two insulin-like growth factor binding protein-2 (IGFBP-2a and IGFBP-2b) from Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus. The full-length cDNA of IGFBP-2a is 1,046 bp long and consists an open frame (ORF) of 876 bp, a 5′-untranslated region (UTR) of 125 bp and a 3′-UTR of 45 bp. IGFBP-2b is 1,067 bp, including a 5′-UTR of 53 bp, a 3′-UTR of 198 bp and an ORF of 816 bp. Real-time quantitative PCR results revealed that IGFBP-2a -2b mRNA was expressed in all detected tissues. Interestingly, the levels of IGFBP-2a mRNA in all detected tissues were higher in female than male, but IGFBP-2b was precisely the opposite. At different embryonic stages, the levels of IGFBP-2a mRNA were typically higher than IGFBP-2b. After hatching, IGFBP-2a mRNA was gradually decreased to a relatively lower level. However, the expression of IGFBP-2b mRNA was increased after hatching, including 3, 7, 10, 14, 17, 20 and 23 days post-hatching (dph), and it presents a higher level until 29 (metamorphic climax), 36 (post-climax) and 41 dph (the end of metamorphosis). In levothyroxine sodium salt (T4, the main form of thyroid hormone in animals)-treated and thiourea (TU)-treated larvae, the expressions of IGFBP-2a had not visibly changed, except in T4-treated 17 dph larvae. The expressions of IGFBP-2b mRNA were distinctly increased from 17 to 23 dph, but suddenly dropped to a lower level in and after 29 dph. However, the levels of IGFBP-2b mRNA during metamorphosis were greatly down-regulated after TU treatment. These results provided basic information for further studies on the role of IGF system in flatfish development and metamorphosis.     

Molecular cloning and expression analysis of P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 from zebrafish (Danio rerio)

To date, the best characterized glycoprotein ligand for P-selectin is P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1). In this study, we cloned the full-length cDNA of PSGL-1 from zebrafish (Danio rerio). Zebrafish PSGl-1 cDNA is 1,594 bp and encodes a putative 284 amino acid protein with a theoretical molecular weight of 30.33 kDa and isoelectric point of 7.96. A signal peptide of 27 amino acids is predicted. The putative protein contains an extracellular mucin-like domain, a transmembrane domain and a cytoplasmic domain, with homology to mammalian PSGL-1. In the putative P-selectin binding region, there are 1 potential tyrosine sulfation site and 12 potential threonine O-glycosylation sites. A single extracellular cysteine, at the junction of the extracellular and transmembrane domains, suggests a disulfide-bonding pattern. The amino acid sequence of zebrafish PSGL-1 is 19–22% identical to that of mammalian PSGL-1. RT–PCR and whole-mount in situ hybridization analysis revealed that zebrafish PSGL-1 was expressed in early embryonic development, and the expression has an increased trend from 0.2 (1-cell stage) to 72 hpf. The results indicate that the general domain structure of PSGL-1 protein is conserved among species, and zebrafish PSGL-1 plays important roles in embryonic development and probably has similar biological function to that of mammalian PSGL-1.     

牙鲆胰岛素样生长因子结合蛋白IGFBP-1 cDNA全长的克隆及表达分析

利用RACE-PCR技术,从牙鲆(Paralichthys olivaceus)的肝脏组织总RNA中克隆得到胰岛素样生长因子结合蛋白-1(insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1, IGFBP-1)基因的全长cDNA序列,该cDNA全长为1070 bp,开放阅读框为729 bp,编码242个氨基酸。通过系统进化树分析,牙鲆IGFBP-1与鱼类IGFBP-1基因聚为一支;通过同源性比对,牙鲆IGFBP-1基因的核苷酸序列与大菱鲆同源性最高,为95%,而其推导的氨基酸序列与其它鱼类如大菱鲆、五条鰤、黄金鲈、红点鲑、鲤鱼和斑马鱼的同源性分别为89%、89%、84%、79%、67%和67%。半定量RT-PCR分析表明,牙鲆IGFBP-1基因存在母源转录本,合子基因在孵化前的胚胎阶段及早期仔鱼中仅有较低水平的表达,在后期仔鱼中表达逐渐增高;牙鲆IGFBP-1基因在肝脏中表达量最高,在胃、脾、肠、性腺、肾、鳃、脑、心脏和肌肉中也有不同程度的表达。