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Differential expression of duplicated genes for prothymosin alpha during zebrafish development
Author(s) -
Donizetti Aldo,
Liccardo Daniela,
Esposito Daniela,
Del Gaudio Rosanna,
Locascio Annamaria,
Ferrara Diana,
Minucci Sergio,
Aniello Francesco
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
developmental dynamics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.634
H-Index - 141
eISSN - 1097-0177
pISSN - 1058-8388
DOI - 10.1002/dvdy.21492
Subject(s) - biology , zebrafish , gene , in situ hybridization , gene expression , microbiology and biotechnology , embryonic stem cell , genetics
Abstract We show that ptma , a single copy gene found in all organisms investigated so far, is duplicated in zebrafish. The two genes, ptma a and ptma b, are individually controlled as indicated by their different expression patterns during embryonic development. Only the ptma b transcript is observed at 4 and 8 hpf of development in all embryonic cells, whereas both genes are expressed at later stages as revealed by in situ hybridization studies. In most cases, the two genes are expressed in the same territories, but only the ptma a transcript was found in the trigeminal ganglion and in endodermal pouches. In the eye, at 72 hpf, the ptma a and ptma b transcripts were found in amacrine cells, whereas only the ptma b transcript appeared in horizontal cells. The existence of two prothymosin genes indicates that their function in cell proliferation and differentiation is more complex in fishes than in mammals. Developmental Dynamics 237:1112–1118, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.