title: Temporal and spatial expression pattern of the myostatin gene during larval and juvenile stages of the Chilean flounder (Paralichthys adspersus).
abstract: The full length cDNA sequence of the myostatin gene was cloned from a teleostean fish, the Chilean flounder (Paralichthys adspersus) through RT-PCR amplification coupled with the RACE approach to complete the 5'- and 3'-region. The deduced amino acid sequence encodes a protein of 377 amino acid residues, including the structural domains responsible for its biological activity. Amino acid sequence comparison revealed high sequence conservation, and confirmed that the isolated sequence corresponds to the MSTN1 gene. Gene expression analysis showed that cfMSTN mRNA is present in a wide variety of tissues in juvenile fish. In addition, we assessed the spatial expression pattern of the MSTN mRNA during embryos and larval stages through whole mount in situ hybridization. No expression was observed in embryos, whereas in larvae of 8 and 9 days post fertilization, the notochord, somites, intestine and some discrete territories in the head, such as brain and eye, were positive for MSTN mRNA. Our results contribute to the knowledge of the MSTN system in larval and juvenile stages; in particular the strong expression observed in the notochord suggests that MSTN, in synchronization with positive growth signals, may play an important role in the control of the development of larvae somites.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Biotecnología Molecular, Universidad Andres Bello, Av. República 217, Santiago, Chile.
authors.forename: Iselys
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Delgado
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fuentes
authors.forename: Sebastián
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Escobar
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.forename: Tatiana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Corbeaux
authors.forename: Ariel E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Reyes
authors.forename: María Inés
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Vera
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alvarez
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Molina
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002677:Chile; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D005432:Flounder / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D007814:Larva / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D055435:Myostatin; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D055435:Myostatin; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta