title: Identification of cDNAs from Japanese pufferfish (Fugu rubripes) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) coding for homologues to tetrapod prion proteins.
abstract: We identified cDNAs coding for homologues to tetrapod prion proteins (PrPs) in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and Japanese pufferfish (Fugu rubripes), which were termed 'similar to PrPs' (stPrPs). Besides significant sequence homologies the fish stPrPs display characteristic structural features in common with tetrapod PrPs. In addition, two stPrPs were shown to be highly expressed in brain tissue. None of the so far identified PrP-homologues of fish resembles doppel. Hence, the duplication of the PrP gene, which generated doppel, may have occurred not in fish but later in the tetrapod lineage. The identification of fish PrPs provides a basis to address concerns about a possible susceptibility of fish to prion infections.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Munich, Kaulbachstr 37, 80539 Munich, Germany. b.oidtmann@zoofisch.vetmed.uni-muenchen.de
authors.forename: Birgit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Oidtmann
authors.forename: Dietrich
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Simon
authors.forename: Nikola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Holtkamp
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Baier
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011328:Prions / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D012474:Salmon; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D023741:Takifugu
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D011328:Prions