title: Characterization of the neuroligin gene family expression and evolution in zebrafish.
abstract: Neuroligins constitute a family of transmembrane proteins localized at the postsynaptic side of both excitatory and inhibitory synapses of the central nervous system. They are involved in synaptic function and maturation and recent studies have linked mutations in specific human Neuroligins to mental retardation and autism. We isolated the human Neuroligin homologs in Danio rerio. Next, we studied their gene structures and we reconstructed the evolution of the Neuroligin genes across vertebrate phyla. Using reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, we analyzed the expression and alternative splicing pattern of each gene during zebrafish embryonic development and in different adult organs. By in situ hybridization, we analyzed the temporal and spatial expression pattern during embryonic development and larval stages and we found that zebrafish Neuroligins are expressed throughout the nervous system. Globally, our results indicate that, during evolution, specific subfunctionalization events occurred within paralogous members of this gene family in zebrafish.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncological Sciences, University of Torino School of Medicine, Candiolo, Italy. alberto.rissone@unito.it
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rissone
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sangiorgio
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Monopoli
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Beltrame
authors.forename: Ileana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zucchi
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bussolino
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arese
authors.forename: Franco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Cotelli
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D047108:Embryonic Development; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005091:Exons; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D007438:Introns; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins