title: Identification of a novel gill-specific calpain from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).
abstract: Calpains are calcium-dependent neutral proteases responsible for many cellular functions. The two forms of calpain ubiquitously expressed in mammalian tissues are known as mu-calpain and m-calpain. We report here the identification of a novel calpain that is similar to but distinct from the mu- and m-calpains in rainbow trout. The cDNA of the novel gene is 2623 bp in length with a single open reading frame. The predicted protein (676 amino acids) contains the conserved calpain characteristic domains that include: domain I (pro peptide), II (cysteine catalytic site), III (electrostatic switch), and IV (calmodulin-like) with five Ca(2+)-binding EF hands. Northern blot and RT-PCR analyses demonstrated that the novel calpain gene is predominantly expressed in rainbow trout gills. Comparison of the novel protein with the ubiquitously expressed calpains and several mammalian tissue-specific calpains revealed that the novel calpain is an orthologue of the mammalian digestive tract specific calpain (calpain 9).
authors.affiliation: Division of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, 26506, USA.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salem
authors.forename: C E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Rexroad
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yao