A male reproduction-related Kazal-type peptidase inhibitor gene in the prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii: molecular characterization and expression patterns.
Peptidase inhibitors in the male reproductive tract are well known in mammals, in which they play roles in protecting the tract epithelium against proteolytic damage or in regulating the fertilization process. By screening the subtracted cDNA clones enriched for male reproductive tract-specific transcripts, one clone encoding a putative protein that showed significant similarity to Kazal-type peptidase inhibitor (KPI) was obtained. This is the first report of an invertebrate in which a male reproductive tract-specific KPI gene has been identified and characterized. The gene contains a 405-bp open reading frame (ORF), a 72 bp 5' untranslated region (UTR), and a 259 bp 3' UTR. The conceptually translated protein consisted of a 21-amino-acid signal peptide and a 113-amino-acid mature polypeptide with two Kazal-type domains (named after the discoverer). Significant levels of the mRNA were observed only in the male reproductive tract, while mRNA expression was not detected in any other tissues tested. The transcription of the gene remained constant during maturation, although not in the postlarval stage. In situ hybridization demonstrated the presence of the mRNA in the secretory epithelial cells of vas deferens and terminal ampullae.
Cao
Jun-Xia
JX
College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, 232 Wensan Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310012, People's Republic of China.
Dai
Jie-Qiong
JQ
Dai
Zhong-Min
ZM
Yin
Guo-Li
GL
Yang
Wei-Jun
WJ
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000737:chemistry; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes / Q000378:metabolism; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000502:physiology*; D005837:Genitalia, Male / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D033541:Palaemonidae / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D016415:Sequence Alignment / Q000662:veterinary; D015842:Serine Proteinase Inhibitors / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*
D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D015842:Serine Proteinase Inhibitors; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes