title: Cloning and transcriptional expression of a novel gene during sex inversion of the rice field eel (Monopterus albus).
abstract: We performed annealing control primer (ACP)-based differential-display reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (DDRT-PCR) to isolate differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from the stage IV ovary and ovotestis of the rice field eel, Monopterus albus. Using 20 arbitrary ACP primers, 14 DEG expressed-sequence tags were identified and sequenced. The transcriptional expression of one DEG, G2, was significantly greater in the ovotestis than the stage IV ovary. To understand the role of G2 in sex inversion, G2 cDNA was cloned and semi-RT-PCR, real time PCR were performed during gonad development. The full-length G2 cDNA was 650 base pairs (bp) and it comprised a 5'-untranslated region (UTR) of 82 bp, a 3'-UTR of 121 bp and an open reading frame of 444 bp that encoded a 148-amino acid protein. The expression of G2 was weak during early ovarian development until the stage IV ovary, but expression increased significantly with gonad development. We speculate that G2 may play an important function during sex inversion and testis development in the rice field eel, but the full details of the function of this gene requires further research.
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries and Life Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306 China.
authors.forename: X C
authors.initials: XC
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, 541004 China.|Key Laboratory of Ecology of Rare and Endangered Species and Environmental Protection, Ministry of Education, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, 541004 China.
authors.forename: J Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries and Life Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306 China.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries and Life Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306 China.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries and Life Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306 China.
authors.forename: Q G
authors.initials: QG
authors.lastname: Liu
keywords: DDRT-PCR; Differentially expressed genes (DEGs); Hermaphroditic fish; Ovotestis