title: Cloning and functional analysis of the proximal promoter region of the three GnRH genes from the silver sea bream (Sparus sarba).
abstract: Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) is a neuropeptide that plays a major role in releasing pituitary gonadotropin and controlling vertebrate reproduction. In this study, three GnRH cDNAs, GnRH-I (sbGnRH; 348 bp), GnRH-II (cGnRH-II; 557 bp), and GnRH-III (sGnRH; 483 bp), were cloned from the brain of the silver sea bream (Sparus sarba). In order to understand how the expression of the GnRH isoforms was regulated in the brain, the promoter of each gene was cloned and analyzed. We found regulatory motifs in the promoters that were conserved in the GnRH promoters of tilapia and zebrafish, suggesting that these motifs play a critical role in GnRH regulation. We performed functional analyses and examined tissue-specific expression for each GnRH promoter using EGFP reporter fusions in zebrafish. The GnRH-I promoter was active in the forebrain area, including the olfactory bulb-terminal nerve area and peripheral preoptic areas; the GnRH-II promoter was active in the midbrain; and the GnRH-III promoter was active in the olfactory bulb. These results show that the GnRH promoters of the silver sea bream GnRH genes exhibit tissue-specific activity.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, Academia Sinica, Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shao-Yang
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: Mark Hung-Chih
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yi-Chia
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Gen-Hwa
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Hong-Yi
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.forename: Tzu-Hsuan
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Jen-Leih
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone / Q000235:genetics*; D008636:Mesencephalon; D009830:Olfactory Bulb; D011301:Preoptic Area; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*; D016548:Prosencephalon; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D021541:Sea Bream
chemical_list: D020033:Protein Isoforms; D007987:Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone