title: Actin gene in prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii: characteristics and differential tissue expression during embryonic development.
abstract: An actin gene (named Mar-actin) from the commercial prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, was isolated, sequenced and gene expression was characterized. The cDNA sequence was 1281 bp in length and contained 1131 bp open reading frame encoding 376 amino acids. The amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence showed high identity (70.3% to 98.1%) with other known actins of various organisms, highest with that of the European flounder (98.1%). The 3' untranslated region (3' UTR) of the Mar-actin mRNA has a high A+U content (approximately 78%) and contains one AUUUUUA and two repeats of the AUUUA motifs, that may function in regulating mRNA decay. Northern blot analysis revealed that the Mar-actin gene was expressed predominantly in muscle tissues. Transcripts in hepatopancreas were barely detectable. Expression of the Mar-actin gene varied during embryonic development and reached the maximal level at the zoea stage. This is the first report describing the complete sequence and expression pattern of the actin gene in prawns.
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, 232 Wensan Road, Hangzhou, PR China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Jing
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Zhong-Min
authors.initials: ZM
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Wei-Jun
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D033541:Palaemonidae / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics*; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012313:RNA