title: The MCP-8 gene and its possible association with resistance to Streptococcus agalactiae in tilapia.
abstract: Mast cell proteases play an important role in the regulation of the immune response. We identified the cDNA of the mast cell protease 8 (MCP-8) gene and analyzed its genomic structure in tilapia. The ORF of the MCP-8 was 768 bp, encoding 255 amino acids. Quantitative real-time PCR revealed that the MCP-8 gene was expressed predominantly in spleen, moderately in liver, blood, brain, gill, intestine, skin, and weakly expressed in kidney, muscle and eye. After a challenge with Streptococcus agalactiae, the gene was induced significantly (p < 0.05) in intestine, kidney, spleen and liver. Furthermore, we identified five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the MCP-8 gene and found that three SNPs were significantly associated (p < 0.05) with resistance against S. agalactiae. However, we found no association between four SNPs and growth traits (p > 0.05). These results suggest that the MCP-8 gene play an important role in the resistance to S. agalactiae in tilapia. The SNP markers in the MCP-8 gene associated with the resistance to the bacterial pathogen may facilitate selection of tilapia resistant to the bacterial disease.
authors.affiliation: Molecular Population Genetics Group, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604, Singapore.
authors.forename: Gui Hong
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Molecular Population Genetics Group, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604, Singapore.
authors.forename: Zi Yi
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Wan
authors.affiliation: Molecular Population Genetics Group, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604, Singapore.
authors.forename: Jun Hong
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.affiliation: Molecular Population Genetics Group, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604, Singapore.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Molecular Population Genetics Group, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604, Singapore.
authors.forename: Xiao Jun
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Molecular Population Genetics Group, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117604, Singapore; Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543, Singapore. Electronic address: genhua@tll.org.sg.
authors.forename: Gen Hua
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Yue
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D060467:Disease Resistance; D005393:Fish Diseases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D029941:Fish Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000662:veterinary; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D013292:Streptococcus agalactiae / Q000502:physiology*; D017210:Tilapia; D053802:Tryptases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D029941:Fish Proteins; D053802:Tryptases
keywords: Mast cell protease; SNP; Streptococcus agalactiae; Tilapia