title: Discovery, characterization and expression of a novel zebrafish gene, znfr, important for notochord formation.
abstract: Genes specifically expressed in the notochord may be crucial for proper notochord development. Using the digital differential display program offered by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, we identified a novel EST sequence from a zebrafish ovary library (No. XM_701450). The full-length cDNA of this transcript was cloned by performing 3' and 5'-RACE and was further confirmed by PCR and sequencing. The resulting 614 bp gene was found to encode a novel 94 amino acid protein that did not share significant homology with any other known protein. Characterization of the genomic sequence revealed that the gene spanned 4.9 kb and was composed of four exons and three introns. RT-PCR gene expression analysis revealed that our gene of interest was expressed in ovary, kidney, brain, mature oocytes and during the early stages of embryogenesis. During embryonic development, znfr mRNA was found to be expressed in the embryonic shield, chordamesoderm and the vacuolated notochord cells by in situ hybridization. Based on this information, we hypothesize that this novel gene is an important maternal factor required for zebrafish notochord formation during early embryonic development. We have thus named this gene znfr (zebrafish notochord formation related).
authors.affiliation: The Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Developmental Biology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, 430072, Hubei, Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Peng
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zou
authors.forename: Yao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Fengjiao
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Deng
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D009672:Notochord / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics*; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; C552354:zgc:113210 protein, zebrafish
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