title: Identification and characterization of the pumilio-2 expressed in zebrafish embryos and adult tissues.
abstract: Pumilio proteins regulate the translation of specific proteins required for germ cell development and morphogenesis. In the present study, we have identified the pumilio-2 in zebrafish and analyze its expression in adult tissues and early embryos. Pumilio-2 codes for the full-length Pumilio-2 protein and contains a PUF-domain. When compared to the mammalian and avian Pumilio-2 proteins, zebrafish Pumilio-2 protein was found to contain an additional sequence of 24 amino acid residues within the PUF-domain. Zebrafish pumilio-2 mRNA is expressed in the ovary, testis, liver, kidney and brain but is absent in the heart and muscle as detected by RT-PCR. The results of in situ hybridization indicate that transcripts of pumilio-2 are distributed in all blastomeres from the 1-cell stage to the sphere stage and accumulate in the head and tail during the 60%-epiboly and 3-somite stages. Transcripts were also detected in the brain and neural tube of the 24 h post-fertilization (hpf) embryos. Western blot analyses indicate that the Pumilio-2 protein is strongly expressed in the ovary, testis and brain but not in other tissues. These data suggest that pumilio-2 plays an important role in the development of the zebrafish germ cells and nervous system.
authors.affiliation: The Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Developmental Biology, College of Life Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072 Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Huan Nan
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Ling Jie
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Meng Xi
authors.initials: MX
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Yu Hang
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Teng
authors.forename: Feng Jiao
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Deng
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015153:Blotting, Western; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D004625:Embryo, Nonmammalian / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005854:Germ Cells / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D008297:Male; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009024:Morphogenesis / Q000235:genetics*; D010053:Ovary / Q000378:metabolism; D010802:Phylogeny; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013737:Testis / Q000378:metabolism; D015027:Zebrafish / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D029961:Zebrafish Proteins; C572330:pum2 protein, zebrafish