Molecular cloning and expression of the SF-1/Ad4BP gene in the frog, Rana rugosa.
SF-1/Ad4BP is a transcriptional factor that was originally found to be a mammalian homologue of the Drosophila Ftz-F1 (fushi tarazu factor 1) (), and transcribed from a gene designated the Ftz-F1 gene (). Ftz-F1 gene-deficient mice lack adrenal glands and gonads. Besides mammals, however, the SF-1/Ad4BP cDNA has only been isolated to date in fish and birds. To understand its role(s) for adrenal and gonadal development in vertebrates, cloning of this gene in animals other than mammals is required. In this study, we succeeded to isolate frog (Rana rugosa) SF-1/Ad4BP cDNA from a testis lambdagt10 cDNA library. It encoded a protein of 468 amino acids, and its open reading frame (ORF) shared 70% similarity with that of chicken OR2.1 (a SF-1/Ad4BP homologue) and 62% with bovine SF-1/Ad4BP. SF-1/Ad4BP mRNA was expressed in the testes, brains, adrenals/kidneys and spleens, but not ovaries, of adult frogs. In addition, we also cloned the 5'-untranslated region (4.6kb) of the SF-1/Ad4BP gene with exons I and II. Genomic structure analysis revealed that frog SF-1/Ad4BP was also transcribed from the same gene as that of mammals. However, many Ftz-F1-related proteins have been reported so far. The Ftz-F1 gene does not encode all of those Ftz-F1-related proteins. Thus, the name of Ftz-F1 is not adequate for the gene coding SF-1/Ad4BP. Here, we propose the use of SF-1/Ad4BP instead of Ftz-F1 for the gene that encodes SF-1/Ad4BP in vertebrates.
Kawano
K
K
Laboratory for Amphibian Biology, Faculty of Science, Hiroshima University, 1-3-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima, Hiroshima 739-8526, Japan.
Miura
I
I
Morohashi
K
K
Takase
M
M
Nakamura
M
M
D020121:5' Untranslated Regions; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002417:Cattle; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D051717:Fushi Tarazu Transcription Factors; D015870:Gene Expression; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010802:Phylogeny; D011898:Ranidae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D054339:Steroidogenic Factor 1; D013737:Testis / Q000378:metabolism; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*
D020121:5' Untranslated Regions; D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D051717:Fushi Tarazu Transcription Factors; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D018160:Receptors, Cytoplasmic and Nuclear; D054339:Steroidogenic Factor 1; D014157:Transcription Factors