A zebrafish unc-45-related gene expressed during muscle development.
We report the isolation and expression pattern of zebrafish unc45r, a gene related to Caenorhabditis elegans unc-45. UNC-45 is a muscle-specific protein thought to interact with myosin and promote the assembly of muscle thick filaments during C. elegans development. Zebrafish Unc45r shares sequence features with C. elegans UNC-45, including three tetratricopeptide repeats and a CRO1/She4p homology domain. unc45r is expressed in mesoderm adjacent to the dorsal midline during late gastrula stages and is coexpressed with muscle specific genes in somitic mesoderm during development of trunk skeletal muscle. unc45r is also expressed in cranial skeletal muscle as well as in cardiac and smooth muscle. The isolation of a muscle-specific unc-45 related gene from zebrafish suggests a common mechanism for muscle filament assembly between vertebrates and invertebrates.
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, USA.
Letitiah
L
Etheridge
Philip
P
Diiorio
Charles G
CG
Sagerström
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D019521:Body Patterning; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D006801:Humans; D018832:Molecular Chaperones / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D024510:Muscle Development; D009124:Muscle Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009132:Muscles / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics*; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D018832:Molecular Chaperones; D009124:Muscle Proteins; C472790:Unc45b protein, zebrafish; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; C107348:unc-45 protein, C elegans