title: Identification of vimentin- and elastin-like transcripts specifically expressed in developing notochord of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.).
abstract: The notochord functions as the midline structural element of all vertebrate embryos, and allows movement and growth at early developmental stages. Moreover, during embryonic development, notochord cells produce secreted factors that provide positional and fate information to a broad variety of cells within adjacent tissues, for instance those of the vertebrae, central nervous system and somites. Due to the large size of the embryo, the salmon notochord is useful to study as a model for exploring notochord development. To investigate factors that might be involved in notochord development, a normalized cDNA library was constructed from a mix of notochords from ∼500 to ∼800 day°. From the 1968 Sanger-sequenced transcripts, 22 genes were identified to be predominantly expressed in the notochord compared to other organs of salmon. Twelve of these genes were found to show expressional regulation around mineralization of the notochord sheath; 11 genes were up-regulated and one gene was down-regulated. Two genes were found to be specifically expressed in the notochord; these genes showed similarity to vimentin (acc. no GT297094) and elastin (acc. no GT297478). In-situ results showed that the vimentin- like transcript was expressed in both chordocytes and chordoblasts, whereas the elastin- like transcript was uniquely expressed in the chordoblasts lining the notochordal sheath. In salmon aquaculture, vertebral deformities are a common problem, and some malformations have been linked to the notochord. The expression of identified transcripts provides further insight into processes taking place in the developing notochord, prior to and during the early mineralization period.
authors: Department of Biology, University of Bergen, P.O. Box 7800, NO-5020 Bergen, Norway. Anita.Sagstad@fiskeridir.no
authors: Anita
authors: A
authors: Sagstad
authors: Sindre
authors: S
authors: Grotmol
authors: Harald
authors: H
authors: Kryvi
authors: Christel
authors: C
authors: Krossøy
authors: Geir K
authors: GK
authors: Totland
authors: Ketil
authors: K
authors: Malde
authors: Shou
authors: S
authors: Wang
authors: Tom
authors: T
authors: Hansen
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Wargelius
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004549:Elastin / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D015723:Gene Library; D042282:Microdissection; D058977:Molecular Sequence Annotation; D009672:Notochord / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D020317:Salmo salar / Q000196:embryology* / Q000235:genetics*; D014746:Vimentin / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014746:Vimentin; D004549:Elastin