Molecular characterization and expression profile of the melatonin receptor MT1 in the ovary of Tianzhu white yak (Bos grunniens).
Melatonin plays crucial roles in a wide range of ovarian physiological functions via the melatonin receptors (MRs). Structure and function of MRs have been well studied in sheep, cattle, and humans, but little information exists on the genetic characterization and function of these receptors in the ovary of the white yak. In the present study, the melatonin receptor MT1 was cloned by RT-PCR in the ovary of white yak; the MT1 cDNA fragment obtained (843bp) comprised an open reading frame (827bp) encoding a protein containing 275 residues, characterized by seven transmembrane regions and an NRY motif, two distinct amino acid replacements were found. The white yak MT1 had a 83.9-98.6% protein sequence identity with that of nine other mammals. Using RT-PCR, the expression levels of MT1, MT2, and LHR in the ovary of pregnant and non-pregnant white yaks were compared, revealing higher levels of all genes in pregnant yaks: 3.83-fold increase for MT1 (P<0.05), 1.39-fold increase for MT2, and 15.32-fold increase for LHR (P<0.05). The distribution of MT1 in yak ovaries was observed using immunohistochemistry on paraffin embedded ovarian sections: MT1 was mainly present on primordial follicles (PF), granulosa cells (GCs), oocytes, and corpus luteum (CL) cells; MT1 expression showed an increasing tendency from PF to GCs to oocytes and to large CL cells. It is suggested that melatonin and MT1 are associated with the corpus luteum function of pregnancy maintenance and follicular development during oocyte maturation in the white yak.
College of Veterinary Medicine, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China.
Jun Jie
JJ
Hu
College of Veterinary Medicine, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China; College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Xiao Yu
XY
Zhang
College of Veterinary Medicine, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China.
Yong
Y
Zhang
College of Veterinary Medicine, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China. Electronic address: zhaoxx@gsau.edu.cn.
Xing Xu
XX
Zhao
College of Animal Science and Technology, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, China.
Fa Di
FD
Li
Department of Animal Science, Ningxia University, Yinchuan, China.
Jin Zhong
JZ
Tao
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle / Q000502:physiology*; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D006107:Granulosa Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008550:Melatonin / Q000378:metabolism; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010053:Ovary / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D044122:Receptor, Melatonin, MT1 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D044122:Receptor, Melatonin, MT1; D008550:Melatonin
Cloning; Expression; Melatonin receptor; Ovary; White yak