title: Novel genes expressed differentially in ascidians with alternate modes of development.
abstract: We have used a subtractive procedure to isolate cDNA clones encoding genes expressed differentially in ascidian species with alternate modes of development. The ascidians used in this study were Molgula occulta, which develops a tailed (urodele) larva, and Molgula occulta, which develops a tailless (anural) larva. Two of the identified clones, Uro-2 and Uro-11, are described. Southern blots show that the Uro-2 and Uro-11 genes are present in both species, but the corresponding mRNAs are expressed preferentially in the urodele species. In situ hybridization showed that Uro-2 and Uro-11 transcripts accumulate in small oocytes during oogenesis. The maternal Uro-2 and Uro-11 transcripts were distributed throughout the oocyte cytoplasm. Transcript concentrations declined during vitellogenesis, but mature eggs still contain detectable levels of Uro-2 and Uro-11 mRNA. After fertilization, the maternal Uro-2 and Uro-11 transcripts were localized in the ectoplasm of uncleaved zygotes and mostly entered the ectoderm cells during cleavage. The Uro-2 gene appears to produce only maternal transcripts. In contrast, the Uro-11 gene may also produce zygotic transcripts, which accumulate between gastrulation and neurulation in posterior epidermis, neural and tail muscle cells. Zygotic expression of the Uro-11 gene was not detected in embryos of the anural species. The deduced amino acid sequences of the Uro-2 and Uro-11 cDNAs suggest that they encode novel basic proteins with distinctive structural features. The predicted Uro-2 protein contain, a leucine zipper motif, suggesting that it may dimerize with another protein. The predicted Uro-11 protein contains a nuclear localization signal, a region with similarity to part of the DNA-binding motif in the bacterial histone-like HU and IHF proteins, 12 repeats of the proposed DNA-binding motif S(T)PXX, and a potential zinc finger of the C6 or C6H2 class, suggesting that it may be a DNA-binding protein. The Uro-2 and Uro-11 proteins are candidates for regulatory factors involved in the evolutionary transition from urodele to anural development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of California, Davis, Bodega Bay 94923.
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Swalla
authors.forename: K W
authors.initials: KW
authors.lastname: Makabe
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Satoh
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Jeffery
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000502:physiology; D005775:Gastrula / Q000502:physiology*; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000235:genetics; D005796:Genes / Q000235:genetics*; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009865:Oocytes / Q000502:physiology; D014561:Urochordata / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics*