Cloning and developmental expression of kinesin superfamily7 (kif7) in the brackish medaka (Oryzias melastigma), a close relative of the Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes).
kif7 is a member of the kinesin superfamily members which are molecular motor proteins that move along microtubules in a highly regulated manner through ATP hydrolysis. In this paper, we report on the cloning of the Oryziasmelastigmakif7 (omkif7) using primers designed according to the Japanese medaka (Oryziaslatipes) database. The cloned omkif7 has an open reading frame of 3762bp and is deduced to encode a polypeptide of 1254 amino acids that possesses the putative ATP-binding and microtubule-binding motifs in its motor domain at the N-terminal region. We characterized the cloned omkif7 by comparison with the zebrafish kif7. Both omkif7 and zebrafish kif7 are shown to be expressed in all embryonic stages and adult tissues examined with higher expression level in the testis and ovary. Whole-mount in situ hybridization revealed that the expression of omkif7 is ubiquitous during the early stages of embryonic development, but became more restrictive and localized to the brain, fin bud and eye at later development. This study suggested that the brackish O.melastigma can serve as a good seawater model organism for developmental studies by utilizing the resources developed from its close relative of the Japanese medaka.
Ho
Nga Yu
NY
Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
Li
Vincent Wai Tsun
VW
Poon
Wing Lin
WL
Cheng
Shuk Han
SH
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006801:Humans; D016547:Kinesins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009990:Oryzias / Q000145:classification / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D013997:Time Factors
D016547:Kinesins