title: cDNA cloning and characterization of a secreted luciferase from the luminous Japanese ostracod, Cypridina noctiluca.
abstract: A secreted luciferase from the marine ostracod, Vargula hilgendorfii, is a useful tool for gene expression assays in living mammalian cells. We have cloned the cDNA of a new secreted luciferase from the ostracod Cypridina noctiluca, which inhabits the coast of Japan. C. noctiluca luciferase consists of 553 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 61,415 Da, as deduced from the nucleotide sequence. The homologies of nucleotide and amino acid sequences with V. hilgendorfii luciferase are 79.2% and 83.1%, respectively. C. noctiluca luciferase can expressed in and secreted from cultured mammalian cells. The characteristic properties of expressed C. noctiluca luciferase are similar to those of V. hilgendorfii luciferase. However, the activity of C. noctiluca luciferase in culture medium is much higher than that of V. hilgendorfii luciferase, suggesting that C. noctiluca luciferase is a highly potent reporter enzyme for real-time and continuous monitoring of gene expression in living cells.
authors.affiliation: Cell Dynamics Research Group, The Special Division for Human Life Technology, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Ikeda, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Nakajima
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Kazutoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamagishi
authors.forename: Toshiteru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Enomoto
authors.forename: Yoshihiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ohmiya
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003445:Crustacea / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics; D015723:Gene Library; D008156:Luciferases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D008156:Luciferases