Adaptive changes in TEF-1 gene expression during cold acclimation in the medaka.
How animals adaptively respond to a cold or hot environment has been questioned for a long time. Recently, with the aid of microarray analysis, various temperature-sensitive genes have been identified in several species. However, a definitive hypothesis regarding the mechanism of adaptation has not been proposed. In the present study, we surveyed, in medaka (Oryzias latipes), genes for which the level of expression changes depending on the surrounding temperature. A messenger RNA differential display of medaka muscle total RNA revealed one such gene encoding transcription enhancer factor-1 (TEF-1). In medaka muscle, the TEF-1 gene produces two splicing variants, TEF-1A and TEF-1B mRNAs. During cold acclimation, the mRNA level of TEF-1A decreased, whereas that of TEF-1B increased. We also found that three putative downstream genes of TEF-1, two for myosin heavy chain (MyHC) and one for troponin T (TnT), a specific group of muscle proteins, were transcribed in a temperature-dependent manner. These results suggest that the transcription of MyHC and/or TnT is regulated by TEF-1 and that these molecules participate in muscle reconstruction during temperature adaptation in fish.
Yamasaki
Yukihiko
Y
Department of Biology, School of Education, Waseda University, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan.
Komoike
Yuta
Y
Higashinakagawa
Toru
T
D000064:Acclimatization / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003080:Cold Temperature; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D029941:Fish Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009990:Oryzias / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029941:Fish Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors