title: Developmental regulation and tissue-specific localization of calmodulin mRNA in the protochordate Ciona intestinalis.
abstract: A full-length cDNA encoding a highly conserved calmodulin was isolated from a cDNA library prepared from hatched larvae of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis. Sequence analysis has identified a 447 b.p. open reading frame, encoding a putative protein of 149 amino acid residues, with a predicted molecular weight of 16.8 kDa, showing 85-98% identity to known calmodulins. Northern blot analysis revealed a single transcript of about 0.8 kb in length, which was maternally expressed and progressively increased during development, until late tail-bud stage. Whole-mount in situ hybridizations, carried out on embryos at different stages of development, showed that starting from the neurula stage, the C. intestinalis calmodulin (Ci-CaM) expression became restricted to the neuroectoderm and that in larvae it was specifically detected in the nervous system.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Gregorio
authors.forename: M G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Villani
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Locascio
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ristoratore
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Aniello
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Branno
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D002147:Calmodulin / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics*; D002938:Ciona intestinalis / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000196:embryology / Q000502:physiology; D004247:DNA / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D010802:Phylogeny; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D014561:Urochordata / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D002147:Calmodulin; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D004247:DNA