title: Identification and characterization of bone morphogenetic protein 2/4 gene from the starfish Archaster typicus.
abstract: A bone morphogenetic protein 2/4 (BMP2/4) gene has been cloned from the starfish, Archaster typicus, for the purpose of investigating the expression pattern of the BMP4 gene in echinoderm embryos which do not produce micromeres. The isolated gene (named AtBMP2/4) contained two exons that encoded the entire coding region. The deduced AtBMP2/4 protein sequence contained 509 amino acids. Sequence comparison showed that it shared high amino acid similarity with sea urchin BMP2/4 and Xenopus BMP2 and BMP4. Northern blot analyses indicated that AtBMP2/4 mRNA initially appears at the blastula stage and has a maximal expression level at the gastrula stage. Whole-mount in situ hybridization revealed that AtBMP2/4 mRNA is expressed in the archenteron, coelomic vesicles, and ectodermal cells of gastrula stage embryos. The observed spatial distribution pattern vastly differs from that of sea urchin SpBMP2/4, which is expressed mainly in the oral ectoderm region of the mesenchyme blastula and early gastrula embryos.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei, 11529 Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: L-J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Shih
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: C-P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: S-P L
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Hwang
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D055396:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2; D055415:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012617:Sea Urchins / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics; D013215:Starfish / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D014981:Xenopus / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins
chemical_list: D055396:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 2; D055415:Bone Morphogenetic Protein 4; D019485:Bone Morphogenetic Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D029867:Xenopus Proteins; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; C525812:bmp4 protein, Xenopus; C525813:bmp4 protein, zebrafish