Rapid Construction of Stable Infectious Full-Length cDNA Clone of Papaya Leaf Distortion Mosaic Virus Using In-Fusion Cloning.

PubMed

Tuo, Decai; Shen, Wentao; Yan, Pu; Li, Xiaoying; Zhou, Peng

2015-12-01

Papaya leaf distortion mosaic virus (PLDMV) is becoming a threat to papaya and transgenic papaya resistant to the related pathogen, papaya ringspot virus (PRSV). The generation of infectious viral clones is an essential step for reverse-genetics studies of viral gene function and cross-protection. In this study, a sequence- and ligation-independent cloning system, the In-Fusion(®) Cloning Kit (Clontech, Mountain View, CA, USA), was used to construct intron-less or intron-containing full-length cDNA clones of the isolate PLDMV-DF, with the simultaneous scarless assembly of multiple viral and intron fragments into a plasmid vector in a single reaction. The intron-containing full-length cDNA clone of PLDMV-DF was stably propagated in Escherichia coli. In vitro intron-containing transcripts were processed and spliced into biologically active intron-less transcripts following mechanical inoculation and then initiated systemic infections in Carica papaya L. seedlings, which developed similar symptoms to those caused by the wild-type virus. However, no infectivity was detected when the plants were inoculated with RNA transcripts from the intron-less construct because the instability of the viral cDNA clone in bacterial cells caused a non-sense or deletion mutation of the genomic sequence of PLDMV-DF. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the construction of an infectious full-length cDNA clone of PLDMV and the splicing of intron-containing transcripts following mechanical inoculation. In-Fusion cloning shortens the construction time from months to days. Therefore, it is a faster, more flexible, and more efficient method than the traditional multistep restriction enzyme-mediated subcloning procedure.

Giardia canis: ultrastructural analysis of G. canis trophozoites transfected with full length G. canis virus cDNA transcripts

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Giardia canis virus (GCV) is a double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) virus of the family Totiviridae. In this study, the full-length cDNA of the G. canis virus was constructed in pPoly2/sfinot vector and RNA was transcribed in vitro. Virus-free G. canis trophozoites were transfected with in vitro transcribed ...

Development of three full-length infectious cDNA clones of distinct brassica yellows virus genotypes for agrobacterium-mediated inoculation.

PubMed

Zhang, Xiao-Yan; Dong, Shu-Wei; Xiang, Hai-Ying; Chen, Xiang-Ru; Li, Da-Wei; Yu, Jia-Lin; Han, Cheng-Gui

2015-02-02

Brassica yellows virus is a newly identified species in the genus of Polerovirus within the family Luteoviridae. Brassica yellows virus (BrYV) is prevalently distributed throughout Mainland China and South Korea, is an important virus infecting cruciferous crops. Based on six BrYV genomic sequences of isolates from oilseed rape, rutabaga, radish, and cabbage, three genotypes, BrYV-A, BrYV-B, and BrYV-C, exist, which mainly differ in the 5' terminal half of the genome. BrYV is an aphid-transmitted and phloem-limited virus. The use of infectious cDNA clones is an alternative means of infecting plants that allows reverse genetic studies to be performed. In this study, full-length cDNA clones of BrYV-A, recombinant BrYV5B3A, and BrYV-C were constructed under control of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. An agrobacterium-mediated inoculation system of Nicotiana benthamiana was developed using these cDNA clones. Three days after infiltration with full-length BrYV cDNA clones, necrotic symptoms were observed in the inoculated leaves of N. benthamiana; however, no obvious symptoms appeared in the upper leaves. Reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) and western blot detection of samples from the upper leaves showed that the maximum infection efficiency of BrYVs could reach 100%. The infectivity of the BrYV-A, BrYV-5B3A, and BrYV-C cDNA clones was further confirmed by northern hybridization. The system developed here will be useful for further studies of BrYV, such as host range, pathogenicity, viral gene functions, and plant-virus-vector interactions, and especially for discerning the differences among the three genotypes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A large-scale full-length cDNA analysis to explore the budding yeast transcriptome

PubMed Central

Miura, Fumihito; Kawaguchi, Noriko; Sese, Jun; Toyoda, Atsushi; Hattori, Masahira; Morishita, Shinichi; Ito, Takashi

2006-01-01

We performed a large-scale cDNA analysis to explore the transcriptome of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We sequenced two cDNA libraries, one from the cells exponentially growing in a minimal medium and the other from meiotic cells. Both libraries were generated by using a vector-capping method that allows the accurate mapping of transcription start sites (TSSs). Consequently, we identified 11,575 TSSs associated with 3,638 annotated genomic features, including 3,599 ORFs, to suggest that most yeast genes have two or more TSSs. In addition, we identified 45 previously undescribed introns, including those affecting current ORF annotations and those spliced alternatively. Furthermore, the analysis revealed 667 transcription units in the intergenic regions and transcripts derived from antisense strands of 367 known features. We also found that 348 ORFs carry TSSs in their 3′-halves to generate sense transcripts starting from inside the ORFs. These results indicate that the budding yeast transcriptome is considerably more complex than previously thought, and it shares many recently revealed characteristics with the transcriptomes of mammals and other higher eukaryotes. Thus, the genome-wide active transcription that generates novel classes of transcripts appears to be an intrinsic feature of the eukaryotic cells. The budding yeast will serve as a versatile model for the studies on these aspects of transcriptome, and the full-length cDNA clones can function as an invaluable resource in such studies. PMID:17101987

An infectious full-length cDNA clone of duck Tembusu virus, a newly emerging flavivirus causing duck egg drop syndrome in China.

PubMed

Li, Shuang; Zhang, Lijiao; Wang, Yongyue; Wang, Shuxia; Sun, Haigang; Su, Wenliang; He, Weiyong; Han, Bo; Su, Jingliang

2013-01-01

Duck Tembusu virus (TMUV) is a recently identified pathogenic flavivirus that causes severe egg drop and encephalitis in Chinese ducks and geese. It has been found to be most closely related to the mosquito-origin Tembusu virus and chicken Sitiawan virus reported in Malaysia. However, the ecological characteristics and the pathogenesis of duck TMUV are largely unknown. We report the construction of full-length cDNA clone of duck TMUV strain JXSP. The virus genome was reverse transcribed, amplified as seven overlapping fragments and successively ligated into the low copy number vector pWSK29 under the control of a T7 promoter. Transfection of BHK-21 cells with the transcribed RNA from the full-length cDNA clone resulted in production of highly infectious progeny virus. In vitro growth characteristics in BHK-21 cells and virulence in ducklings and BALB/c mice were similar for the rescued and parental viruses. This stable infectious cDNA clone will be a valuable tool for studying the genetic determinants of duck TMUV. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A new set of ESTs and cDNA clones from full-length and normalized libraries for gene discovery and functional characterization in citrus

PubMed Central

Marques, M Carmen; Alonso-Cantabrana, Hugo; Forment, Javier; Arribas, Raquel; Alamar, Santiago; Conejero, Vicente; Perez-Amador, Miguel A

2009-01-01

Background Interpretation of ever-increasing raw sequence information generated by modern genome sequencing technologies faces multiple challenges, such as gene function analysis and genome annotation. Indeed, nearly 40% of genes in plants encode proteins of unknown function. Functional characterization of these genes is one of the main challenges in modern biology. In this regard, the availability of full-length cDNA clones may fill in the gap created between sequence information and biological knowledge. Full-length cDNA clones facilitate functional analysis of the corresponding genes enabling manipulation of their expression in heterologous systems and the generation of a variety of tagged versions of the native protein. In addition, the development of full-length cDNA sequences has the power to improve the quality of genome annotation. Results We developed an integrated method to generate a new normalized EST collection enriched in full-length and rare transcripts of different citrus species from multiple tissues and developmental stages. We constructed a total of 15 cDNA libraries, from which we isolated 10,898 high-quality ESTs representing 6142 different genes. Percentages of redundancy and proportion of full-length clones range from 8 to 33, and 67 to 85, respectively, indicating good efficiency of the approach employed. The new EST collection adds 2113 new citrus ESTs, representing 1831 unigenes, to the collection of citrus genes available in the public databases. To facilitate functional analysis, cDNAs were introduced in a Gateway-based cloning vector for high-throughput functional analysis of genes in planta. Herein, we describe the technical methods used in the library construction, sequence analysis of clones and the overexpression of CitrSEP, a citrus homolog to the Arabidopsis SEP3 gene, in Arabidopsis as an example of a practical application of the engineered Gateway vector for functional analysis. Conclusion The new EST collection denotes an

Integrative Annotation of 21,037 Human Genes Validated by Full-Length cDNA Clones

PubMed Central

Imanishi, Tadashi; Itoh, Takeshi; Suzuki, Yutaka; O'Donovan, Claire; Fukuchi, Satoshi; Koyanagi, Kanako O; Barrero, Roberto A; Tamura, Takuro; Yamaguchi-Kabata, Yumi; Tanino, Motohiko; Yura, Kei; Miyazaki, Satoru; Ikeo, Kazuho; Homma, Keiichi; Kasprzyk, Arek; Nishikawa, Tetsuo; Hirakawa, Mika; Thierry-Mieg, Jean; Thierry-Mieg, Danielle; Ashurst, Jennifer; Jia, Libin; Nakao, Mitsuteru; Thomas, Michael A; Mulder, Nicola; Karavidopoulou, Youla; Jin, Lihua; Kim, Sangsoo; Yasuda, Tomohiro; Lenhard, Boris; Eveno, Eric; Suzuki, Yoshiyuki; Yamasaki, Chisato; Takeda, Jun-ichi; Gough, Craig; Hilton, Phillip; Fujii, Yasuyuki; Sakai, Hiroaki; Tanaka, Susumu; Amid, Clara; Bellgard, Matthew; Bonaldo, Maria de Fatima; Bono, Hidemasa; Bromberg, Susan K; Brookes, Anthony J; Bruford, Elspeth; Carninci, Piero; Chelala, Claude; Couillault, Christine; de Souza, Sandro J.; Debily, Marie-Anne; Devignes, Marie-Dominique; Dubchak, Inna; Endo, Toshinori; Estreicher, Anne; Eyras, Eduardo; Fukami-Kobayashi, Kaoru; R. Gopinath, Gopal; Graudens, Esther; Hahn, Yoonsoo; Han, Michael; Han, Ze-Guang; Hanada, Kousuke; Hanaoka, Hideki; Harada, Erimi; Hashimoto, Katsuyuki; Hinz, Ursula; Hirai, Momoki; Hishiki, Teruyoshi; Hopkinson, Ian; Imbeaud, Sandrine; Inoko, Hidetoshi; Kanapin, Alexander; Kaneko, Yayoi; Kasukawa, Takeya; Kelso, Janet; Kersey, Paul; Kikuno, Reiko; Kimura, Kouichi; Korn, Bernhard; Kuryshev, Vladimir; Makalowska, Izabela; Makino, Takashi; Mano, Shuhei; Mariage-Samson, Regine; Mashima, Jun; Matsuda, Hideo; Mewes, Hans-Werner; Minoshima, Shinsei; Nagai, Keiichi; Nagasaki, Hideki; Nagata, Naoki; Nigam, Rajni; Ogasawara, Osamu; Ohara, Osamu; Ohtsubo, Masafumi; Okada, Norihiro; Okido, Toshihisa; Oota, Satoshi; Ota, Motonori; Ota, Toshio; Otsuki, Tetsuji; Piatier-Tonneau, Dominique; Poustka, Annemarie; Ren, Shuang-Xi; Saitou, Naruya; Sakai, Katsunaga; Sakamoto, Shigetaka; Sakate, Ryuichi; Schupp, Ingo; Servant, Florence; Sherry, Stephen; Shiba, Rie; Shimizu, Nobuyoshi; Shimoyama, Mary; Simpson, Andrew J; Soares, Bento; Steward, Charles; Suwa, Makiko; Suzuki, Mami; Takahashi, Aiko; Tamiya, Gen; Tanaka, Hiroshi; Taylor, Todd; Terwilliger, Joseph D; Unneberg, Per; Veeramachaneni, Vamsi; Watanabe, Shinya; Wilming, Laurens; Yasuda, Norikazu; Yoo, Hyang-Sook; Stodolsky, Marvin; Makalowski, Wojciech; Go, Mitiko; Nakai, Kenta; Takagi, Toshihisa; Kanehisa, Minoru; Sakaki, Yoshiyuki; Quackenbush, John; Okazaki, Yasushi; Hayashizaki, Yoshihide; Hide, Winston; Chakraborty, Ranajit; Nishikawa, Ken; Sugawara, Hideaki; Tateno, Yoshio; Chen, Zhu; Oishi, Michio; Tonellato, Peter; Apweiler, Rolf; Okubo, Kousaku; Wagner, Lukas; Wiemann, Stefan; Strausberg, Robert L; Isogai, Takao; Auffray, Charles; Nomura, Nobuo; Sugano, Sumio

2004-01-01

The human genome sequence defines our inherent biological potential; the realization of the biology encoded therein requires knowledge of the function of each gene. Currently, our knowledge in this area is still limited. Several lines of investigation have been used to elucidate the structure and function of the genes in the human genome. Even so, gene prediction remains a difficult task, as the varieties of transcripts of a gene may vary to a great extent. We thus performed an exhaustive integrative characterization of 41,118 full-length cDNAs that capture the gene transcripts as complete functional cassettes, providing an unequivocal report of structural and functional diversity at the gene level. Our international collaboration has validated 21,037 human gene candidates by analysis of high-quality full-length cDNA clones through curation using unified criteria. This led to the identification of 5,155 new gene candidates. It also manifested the most reliable way to control the quality of the cDNA clones. We have developed a human gene database, called the H-Invitational Database (H-InvDB; http://www.h-invitational.jp/). It provides the following: integrative annotation of human genes, description of gene structures, details of novel alternative splicing isoforms, non-protein-coding RNAs, functional domains, subcellular localizations, metabolic pathways, predictions of protein three-dimensional structure, mapping of known single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), identification of polymorphic microsatellite repeats within human genes, and comparative results with mouse full-length cDNAs. The H-InvDB analysis has shown that up to 4% of the human genome sequence (National Center for Biotechnology Information build 34 assembly) may contain misassembled or missing regions. We found that 6.5% of the human gene candidates (1,377 loci) did not have a good protein-coding open reading frame, of which 296 loci are strong candidates for non-protein-coding RNA genes. In

Characterization of a full-length infectious cDNA clone and a GFP reporter derivative of the oncolytic picornavirus SVV-001.

PubMed

Poirier, John T; Reddy, P Seshidhar; Idamakanti, Neeraja; Li, Shawn S; Stump, Kristine L; Burroughs, Kevin D; Hallenbeck, Paul L; Rudin, Charles M

2012-12-01

Seneca Valley virus (SVV-001) is an oncolytic picornavirus with selective tropism for a subset of human cancers with neuroendocrine differentiation. To characterize further the specificity of SVV-001 and its patterns and kinetics of intratumoral spread, bacterial plasmids encoding a cDNA clone of the full-length wild-type virus and a derivative virus expressing GFP were generated. The full-length cDNA of the SVV-001 RNA genome was cloned into a bacterial plasmid under the control of the T7 core promoter sequence to create an infectious cDNA clone, pNTX-09. A GFP reporter virus cDNA clone, pNTX-11, was then generated by cloning a fusion protein of GFP and the 2A protein from foot-and-mouth disease virus immediately following the native SVV-001 2A sequence. Recombinant GFP-expressing reporter virus, SVV-GFP, was rescued from cells transfected with in vitro RNA transcripts from pNTX-11 and propagated in cell culture. The proliferation kinetics of SVV-001 and SVV-GFP were indistinguishable. The SVV-GFP reporter virus was used to determine that a subpopulation of permissive cells is present in small-cell lung cancer cell lines previously thought to lack permissivity to SVV-001. Finally, it was shown that SVV-GFP administered to tumour-bearing animals homes in to and infects tumours whilst having no detectable tropism for normal mouse tissues at 1×10(11) viral particles kg(-1), a dose equivalent to that administered in ongoing clinical trials. These infectious clones will be of substantial value in further characterizing the biology of this virus and as a backbone for the generation of additional oncolytic derivatives.

Recovery of infectious classical swine fever virus (CSFV) from full-length genomic cDNA clones by a swine kidney cell line expressing bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase.

PubMed

van Gennip, H G; van Rijn, P A; Widjojoatmodjo, M N; Moormann, R J

1999-03-01

A new method for the recovery of infectious classical swine fever virus (CSFV) from full-length genomic cDNA clones of the C-strain was developed. Classical reverse genetics is based on transfection of in vitro transcribed RNA to target cells to recover RNA viruses. However, the specific infectivity of such in vitro transcribed RNA in swine kidney cells is usually low. To improve reverse genetics for CSFV, a stable swine kidney cell line was established that expresses cytoplasmic bacteriophage T7 RNA polymerase (SK6.T7). A 200-fold increased virus titre was obtained from SK6.T7 cells transfected with linearized full-length cDNA compared to in vitro transcribed RNA, whereas transfection of circular full-length cDNA resulted in 20-fold increased virus titres. Viruses generated on the SK6.T7 cells are indistinguishable from the viruses generated by the classical reverse genetic procedures. These results show the improved recovery of infectious CSFV directly from full-length cDNAs. Furthermore, the reverse genetic procedures are simplified to a faster, one step protocol. We conclude that the SK6.T7 cell line will be a valuable tool for recovering mutant CSFV and will contribute to future pestivirus research.

Production of a full-length infectious GFP-tagged cDNA clone of Beet mild yellowing virus for the study of plant-polerovirus interactions.

PubMed

Stevens, Mark; Viganó, Felicita

2007-04-01

The full-length cDNA of Beet mild yellowing virus (Broom's Barn isolate) was sequenced and cloned into the vector pLitmus 29 (pBMYV-BBfl). The sequence of BMYV-BBfl (5721 bases) shared 96% and 98% nucleotide identity with the other complete sequences of BMYV (BMYV-2ITB, France and BMYV-IPP, Germany respectively). Full-length capped RNA transcripts of pBMYV-BBfl were synthesised and found to be biologically active in Arabidopsis thaliana protoplasts following electroporation or PEG inoculation when the protoplasts were subsequently analysed using serological and molecular methods. The BMYV sequence was modified by inserting DNA that encoded the jellyfish green fluorescent protein (GFP) into the P5 gene close to its 3' end. A. thaliana protoplasts electroporated with these RNA transcripts were biologically active and up to 2% of transfected protoplasts showed GFP-specific fluorescence. The exploitation of these cDNA clones for the study of the biology of beet poleroviruses is discussed.

cDNA nucleotide sequence coding for stearoyl-CoA desaturase and its expression in the zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo.

PubMed

Hsieh, S L; Liu, R W; Wu, C H; Cheng, W T; Kuo, Ching-Ming

2003-12-01

A cDNA sequence of stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) was determined from zebrafish (Danio rerio) and compared to the corresponding genes in several teleosts. Zebrafish SCD cDNA has a size of 1,061 bp, encodes a polypeptide of 325 amino acids, and shares 88, 85, 84, and 83% similarities with tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), common carp (Cyprinus carpio), and milkfish (Chanos chanos), respectively. This 1,061 bp sequence specifies a protein that, in common with other fatty acid desaturases, contains three histidine boxes, believed to be involved in catalysis. These observations suggested that SCD genes are highly conserved. In addition, an oligonucleotide probe complementary to zebrafish SCD mRNA was hybridized to mRNA of approximately 396 bases with Northern blot analysis. The Northern blot and RT-PCR analyses showed that the SCD mRNA was expressed predominantly in the liver, intestine, gill, and muscle, while a lower level was found in the brain. Furthermore, we utilized whole-mount in situ hybridization and real-time quantitative RT-PCR to identify expression of the zebrafish SCD gene at five different stages of development. This revealed that very high levels of transcripts were found in zebrafish at all stages during embryogenesis and early development. Copyright 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Construction of a Full-Length Enriched cDNA Library and Preliminary Analysis of Expressed Sequence Tags from Bengal Tiger Panthera tigris tigris

PubMed Central

Liu, Changqing; Liu, Dan; Guo, Yu; Lu, Taofeng; Li, Xiangchen; Zhang, Minghai; Ma, Jianzhang; Ma, Yuehui; Guan, Weijun

2013-01-01

In this study, a full-length enriched cDNA library was successfully constructed from Bengal tiger, Panthera tigris tigris, the most well-known wild Animal. Total RNA was extracted from cultured Bengal tiger fibroblasts in vitro. The titers of primary and amplified libraries were 1.28 × 106 pfu/mL and 1.56 × 109 pfu/mL respectively. The percentage of recombinants from unamplified library was 90.2% and average length of exogenous inserts was 0.98 kb. A total of 212 individual ESTs with sizes ranging from 356 to 1108 bps were then analyzed. The BLASTX score revealed that 48.1% of the sequences were classified as a strong match, 45.3% as nominal and 6.6% as a weak match. Among the ESTs with known putative function, 26.4% ESTs were found to be related to all kinds of metabolisms, 19.3% ESTs to information storage and processing, 11.3% ESTs to posttranslational modification, protein turnover, chaperones, 11.3% ESTs to transport, 9.9% ESTs to signal transducer/cell communication, 9.0% ESTs to structure protein, 3.8% ESTs to cell cycle, and only 6.6% ESTs classified as novel genes. By EST sequencing, a full-length gene coding ferritin was identified and characterized. The recombinant plasmid pET32a-TAT-Ferritin was constructed, coded for the TAT-Ferritin fusion protein with two 6× His-tags in N and C-terminal. After BCA assay, the concentration of soluble Trx-TAT-Ferritin recombinant protein was 2.32 ± 0.12 mg/mL. These results demonstrated that the reliability and representativeness of the cDNA library attained to the requirements of a standard cDNA library. This library provided a useful platform for the functional genome and transcriptome research of Bengal tigers. PMID:23708105

Construction of a full-length enriched cDNA library and preliminary analysis of expressed sequence tags from Bengal Tiger Panthera tigris tigris.

PubMed

Liu, Changqing; Liu, Dan; Guo, Yu; Lu, Taofeng; Li, Xiangchen; Zhang, Minghai; Ma, Jianzhang; Ma, Yuehui; Guan, Weijun

2013-05-24

In this study, a full-length enriched cDNA library was successfully constructed from Bengal tiger, Panthera tigris tigris, the most well-known wild Animal. Total RNA was extracted from cultured Bengal tiger fibroblasts in vitro. The titers of primary and amplified libraries were 1.28 × 106 pfu/mL and 1.56 × 109 pfu/mL respectively. The percentage of recombinants from unamplified library was 90.2% and average length of exogenous inserts was 0.98 kb. A total of 212 individual ESTs with sizes ranging from 356 to 1108 bps were then analyzed. The BLASTX score revealed that 48.1% of the sequences were classified as a strong match, 45.3% as nominal and 6.6% as a weak match. Among the ESTs with known putative function, 26.4% ESTs were found to be related to all kinds of metabolisms, 19.3% ESTs to information storage and processing, 11.3% ESTs to posttranslational modification, protein turnover, chaperones, 11.3% ESTs to transport, 9.9% ESTs to signal transducer/cell communication, 9.0% ESTs to structure protein, 3.8% ESTs to cell cycle, and only 6.6% ESTs classified as novel genes. By EST sequencing, a full-length gene coding ferritin was identified and characterized. The recombinant plasmid pET32a-TAT-Ferritin was constructed, coded for the TAT-Ferritin fusion protein with two 6× His-tags in N and C-terminal. After BCA assay, the concentration of soluble Trx-TAT-Ferritin recombinant protein was 2.32 ± 0.12 mg/mL. These results demonstrated that the reliability and representativeness of the cDNA library attained to the requirements of a standard cDNA library. This library provided a useful platform for the functional genome and transcriptome research of Bengal tigers.

Targeting a Complex Transcriptome: The Construction of the Mouse Full-Length cDNA Encyclopedia

PubMed Central

Carninci, Piero; Waki, Kazunori; Shiraki, Toshiyuki; Konno, Hideaki; Shibata, Kazuhiro; Itoh, Masayoshi; Aizawa, Katsunori; Arakawa, Takahiro; Ishii, Yoshiyuki; Sasaki, Daisuke; Bono, Hidemasa; Kondo, Shinji; Sugahara, Yuichi; Saito, Rintaro; Osato, Naoki; Fukuda, Shiro; Sato, Kenjiro; Watahiki, Akira; Hirozane-Kishikawa, Tomoko; Nakamura, Mari; Shibata, Yuko; Yasunishi, Ayako; Kikuchi, Noriko; Yoshiki, Atsushi; Kusakabe, Moriaki; Gustincich, Stefano; Beisel, Kirk; Pavan, William; Aidinis, Vassilis; Nakagawara, Akira; Held, William A.; Iwata, Hiroo; Kono, Tomohiro; Nakauchi, Hiromitsu; Lyons, Paul; Wells, Christine; Hume, David A.; Fagiolini, Michela; Hensch, Takao K.; Brinkmeier, Michelle; Camper, Sally; Hirota, Junji; Mombaerts, Peter; Muramatsu, Masami; Okazaki, Yasushi; Kawai, Jun; Hayashizaki, Yoshihide

2003-01-01

We report the construction of the mouse full-length cDNA encyclopedia,the most extensive view of a complex transcriptome,on the basis of preparing and sequencing 246 libraries. Before cloning,cDNAs were enriched in full-length by Cap-Trapper,and in most cases,aggressively subtracted/normalized. We have produced 1,442,236 successful 3′-end sequences clustered into 171,144 groups, from which 60,770 clones were fully sequenced cDNAs annotated in the FANTOM-2 annotation. We have also produced 547,149 5′ end reads,which clustered into 124,258 groups. Altogether, these cDNAs were further grouped in 70,000 transcriptional units (TU),which represent the best coverage of a transcriptome so far. By monitoring the extent of normalization/subtraction, we define the tentative equivalent coverage (TEC),which was estimated to be equivalent to >12,000,000 ESTs derived from standard libraries. High coverage explains discrepancies between the very large numbers of clusters (and TUs) of this project,which also include non-protein-coding RNAs,and the lower gene number estimation of genome annotations. Altogether,5′-end clusters identify regions that are potential promoters for 8637 known genes and 5′-end clusters suggest the presence of almost 63,000 transcriptional starting points. An estimate of the frequency of polyadenylation signals suggests that at least half of the singletons in the EST set represent real mRNAs. Clones accounting for about half of the predicted TUs await further sequencing. The continued high-discovery rate suggests that the task of transcriptome discovery is not yet complete. PMID:12819125

Insights from computational analysis of full-length β-ketoacyl-[ACP] synthase-II cDNA isolated from American and African oil palms

PubMed Central

Bhore, Subhash J.; Cha, Thye S.; Amelia, Kassim; Shah, Farida H.

2014-01-01

Background: Palm oil derived from fruits (mesocarp) of African oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq. Tenera) and American oil palm (E. oleifera) is important for food industry. Due to high yield, Elaeis guineensis (Tenera) is cultivated on commercial scale, though its oil contains high (~54%) level of saturated fatty acids. The rate-limiting activity of beta-ketoacyl-[ACP] synthase-II (KAS-II) is considered mainly responsible for the high (44%) level of palmitic acid (C16:0) in the oil obtained from E. guineensis. Objective: The objective of this study was to annotate KAS-II cDNA isolated from American and African oil palms. Materials and Methods: The full-length E. oleifera KAS-II (EoKAS-II) cDNA clone was isolated using random method of gene isolation. Whereas, the E. guineensis KAS-II (EgTKAS-II) cDNA was isolated using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique; and missing ends were obtained by employing 5’and 3’ RACE technique. Results: The results show that EoKAS-II and EgTKAS-II open reading frames (ORFs) are of 1689 and 1721 bp in length, respectively. Further analysis of the both EoKAS-II and EgTKAS-II predicted protein illustrates that they contains conserved domains for ‘KAS-I and II’, ‘elongating’ condensing enzymes, ‘condensing enzymes super-family’, and ‘3-oxoacyl-[ACP] synthase II’. The predicted protein sequences shows 95% similarity with each other. Consecutively, the three active sites (Cys, His, and His) were identified in both proteins. However, difference in positions of two active Histidine (His) residues was noticed. Conclusion: These insights may serve as the foundation in understanding the variable activity of KAS-II in American and African oil palms; and cDNA clones could be useful in the genetic engineering of oil palms. PMID:24678202

An integrated PCR colony hybridization approach to screen cDNA libraries for full-length coding sequences.

PubMed

Pollier, Jacob; González-Guzmán, Miguel; Ardiles-Diaz, Wilson; Geelen, Danny; Goossens, Alain

2011-01-01

cDNA-Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (cDNA-AFLP) is a commonly used technique for genome-wide expression analysis that does not require prior sequence knowledge. Typically, quantitative expression data and sequence information are obtained for a large number of differentially expressed gene tags. However, most of the gene tags do not correspond to full-length (FL) coding sequences, which is a prerequisite for subsequent functional analysis. A medium-throughput screening strategy, based on integration of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and colony hybridization, was developed that allows in parallel screening of a cDNA library for FL clones corresponding to incomplete cDNAs. The method was applied to screen for the FL open reading frames of a selection of 163 cDNA-AFLP tags from three different medicinal plants, leading to the identification of 109 (67%) FL clones. Furthermore, the protocol allows for the use of multiple probes in a single hybridization event, thus significantly increasing the throughput when screening for rare transcripts. The presented strategy offers an efficient method for the conversion of incomplete expressed sequence tags (ESTs), such as cDNA-AFLP tags, to FL-coding sequences.

Salmo salar and Esox lucius full-length cDNA sequences reveal changes in evolutionary pressures on a post-tetraploidization genome

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Salmonids are one of the most intensely studied fish, in part due to their economic and environmental importance, and in part due to a recent whole genome duplication in the common ancestor of salmonids. This duplication greatly impacts species diversification, functional specialization, and adaptation. Extensive new genomic resources have recently become available for Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), but documentation of allelic versus duplicate reference genes remains a major uncertainty in the complete characterization of its genome and its evolution. Results From existing expressed sequence tag (EST) resources and three new full-length cDNA libraries, 9,057 reference quality full-length gene insert clones were identified for Atlantic salmon. A further 1,365 reference full-length clones were annotated from 29,221 northern pike (Esox lucius) ESTs. Pairwise dN/dS comparisons within each of 408 sets of duplicated salmon genes using northern pike as a diploid out-group show asymmetric relaxation of selection on salmon duplicates. Conclusions 9,057 full-length reference genes were characterized in S. salar and can be used to identify alleles and gene family members. Comparisons of duplicated genes show that while purifying selection is the predominant force acting on both duplicates, consistent with retention of functionality in both copies, some relaxation of pressure on gene duplicates can be identified. In addition, there is evidence that evolution has acted asymmetrically on paralogs, allowing one of the pair to diverge at a faster rate. PMID:20433749

Isolation and characterization of full-length cDNA clones coding for cholinesterase from fetal human tissues

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Prody, C.A.; Zevin-Sonkin, D.; Gnatt, A.

1987-06-01

To study the primary structure and regulation of human cholinesterases, oligodeoxynucleotide probes were prepared according to a consensus peptide sequence present in the active site of both human serum pseudocholinesterase and Torpedo electric organ true acetylcholinesterase. Using these probes, the authors isolated several cDNA clones from lambdagt10 libraries of fetal brain and liver origins. These include 2.4-kilobase cDNA clones that code for a polypeptide containing a putative signal peptide and the N-terminal, active site, and C-terminal peptides of human BtChoEase, suggesting that they code either for BtChoEase itself or for a very similar but distinct fetal form of cholinesterase. Inmore » RNA blots of poly(A)/sup +/ RNA from the cholinesterase-producing fetal brain and liver, these cDNAs hybridized with a single 2.5-kilobase band. Blot hybridization to human genomic DNA revealed that these fetal BtChoEase cDNA clones hybridize with DNA fragments of the total length of 17.5 kilobases, and signal intensities indicated that these sequences are not present in many copies. Both the cDNA-encoded protein and its nucleotide sequence display striking homology to parallel sequences published for Torpedo AcChoEase. These finding demonstrate extensive homologies between the fetal BtChoEase encoded by these clones and other cholinesterases of various forms and species.« less

Construction and Evaluation of Normalized cDNA Libraries Enriched with Full-Length Sequences for Rapid Discovery of New Genes from Sisal (Agave sisalana Perr.) Different Developmental Stages

PubMed Central

Zhou, Wen-Zhao; Zhang, Yan-Mei; Lu, Jun-Ying; Li, Jun-Feng

2012-01-01

To provide a resource of sisal-specific expressed sequence data and facilitate this powerful approach in new gene research, the preparation of normalized cDNA libraries enriched with full-length sequences is necessary. Four libraries were produced with RNA pooled from Agave sisalana multiple tissues to increase efficiency of normalization and maximize the number of independent genes by SMART™ method and the duplex-specific nuclease (DSN). This procedure kept the proportion of full-length cDNAs in the subtracted/normalized libraries and dramatically enhanced the discovery of new genes. Sequencing of 3875 cDNA clones of libraries revealed 3320 unigenes with an average insert length about 1.2 kb, indicating that the non-redundancy of libraries was about 85.7%. These unigene functions were predicted by comparing their sequences to functional domain databases and extensively annotated with Gene Ontology (GO) terms. Comparative analysis of sisal unigenes and other plant genomes revealed that four putative MADS-box genes and knotted-like homeobox (knox) gene were obtained from a total of 1162 full-length transcripts. Furthermore, real-time PCR showed that the characteristics of their transcripts mainly depended on the tight expression regulation of a number of genes during the leaf and flower development. Analysis of individual library sequence data indicated that the pooled-tissue approach was highly effective in discovering new genes and preparing libraries for efficient deep sequencing. PMID:23202944

Isolation and characterization of full-length cDNA clones coding for cholinesterase from fetal human tissues.

PubMed Central

Prody, C A; Zevin-Sonkin, D; Gnatt, A; Goldberg, O; Soreq, H

1987-01-01

To study the primary structure and regulation of human cholinesterases, oligodeoxynucleotide probes were prepared according to a consensus peptide sequence present in the active site of both human serum pseudocholinesterase (BtChoEase; EC 3.1.1.8) and Torpedo electric organ "true" acetylcholinesterase (AcChoEase; EC 3.1.1.7). Using these probes, we isolated several cDNA clones from lambda gt10 libraries of fetal brain and liver origins. These include 2.4-kilobase cDNA clones that code for a polypeptide containing a putative signal peptide and the N-terminal, active site, and C-terminal peptides of human BtChoEase, suggesting that they code either for BtChoEase itself or for a very similar but distinct fetal form of cholinesterase. In RNA blots of poly(A)+ RNA from the cholinesterase-producing fetal brain and liver, these cDNAs hybridized with a single 2.5-kilobase band. Blot hybridization to human genomic DNA revealed that these fetal BtChoEase cDNA clones hybridize with DNA fragments of the total length of 17.5 kilobases, and signal intensities indicated that these sequences are not present in many copies. Both the cDNA-encoded protein and its nucleotide sequence display striking homology to parallel sequences published for Torpedo AcChoEase. These findings demonstrate extensive homologies between the fetal BtChoEase encoded by these clones and other cholinesterases of various forms and species. Images PMID:3035536

Sequencing analysis of 20,000 full-length cDNA clones from cassava reveals lineage specific expansions in gene families related to stress response

PubMed Central

Sakurai, Tetsuya; Plata, Germán; Rodríguez-Zapata, Fausto; Seki, Motoaki; Salcedo, Andrés; Toyoda, Atsushi; Ishiwata, Atsushi; Tohme, Joe; Sakaki, Yoshiyuki; Shinozaki, Kazuo; Ishitani, Manabu

2007-01-01

Background Cassava, an allotetraploid known for its remarkable tolerance to abiotic stresses is an important source of energy for humans and animals and a raw material for many industrial processes. A full-length cDNA library of cassava plants under normal, heat, drought, aluminum and post harvest physiological deterioration conditions was built; 19968 clones were sequence-characterized using expressed sequence tags (ESTs). Results The ESTs were assembled into 6355 contigs and 9026 singletons that were further grouped into 10577 scaffolds; we found 4621 new cassava sequences and 1521 sequences with no significant similarity to plant protein databases. Transcripts of 7796 distinct genes were captured and we were able to assign a functional classification to 78% of them while finding more than half of the enzymes annotated in metabolic pathways in Arabidopsis. The annotation of sequences that were not paired to transcripts of other species included many stress-related functional categories showing that our library is enriched with stress-induced genes. Finally, we detected 230 putative gene duplications that include key enzymes in reactive oxygen species signaling pathways and could play a role in cassava stress response features. Conclusion The cassava full-length cDNA library here presented contains transcripts of genes involved in stress response as well as genes important for different areas of cassava research. This library will be an important resource for gene discovery, characterization and cloning; in the near future it will aid the annotation of the cassava genome. PMID:18096061

Sequencing and analysis of 10967 full-length cDNA clones from Xenopus laevis and Xenopus tropicalis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Morin, R D; Chang, E; Petrescu, A

2005-10-31

Sequencing of full-insert clones from full-length cDNA libraries from both Xenopus laevis and Xenopus tropicalis has been ongoing as part of the Xenopus Gene Collection initiative. Here we present an analysis of 10967 clones (8049 from X. laevis and 2918 from X. tropicalis). The clone set contains 2013 orthologs between X. laevis and X. tropicalis as well as 1795 paralog pairs within X. laevis. 1199 are in-paralogs, believed to have resulted from an allotetraploidization event approximately 30 million years ago, and the remaining 546 are likely out-paralogs that have resulted from more ancient gene duplications, prior to the divergence betweenmore » the two species. We do not detect any evidence for positive selection by the Yang and Nielsen maximum likelihood method of approximating d{sub N}/d{sub S}. However, d{sub N}/d{sub S} for X. laevis in-paralogs is elevated relative to X. tropicalis orthologs. This difference is highly significant, and indicates an overall relaxation of selective pressures on duplicated gene pairs. Within both groups of paralogs, we found evidence of subfunctionalization, manifested as differential expression of paralogous genes among tissues, as measured by EST information from public resources. We have observed, as expected, a higher instance of subfunctionalization in out-paralogs relative to in-paralogs.« less

Sequencing and analysis of 10,967 full-length cDNA clones from Xenopus laevis and Xenopus tropicalis reveals post-tetraploidization transcriptome remodeling

PubMed Central

Morin, Ryan D.; Chang, Elbert; Petrescu, Anca; Liao, Nancy; Griffith, Malachi; Kirkpatrick, Robert; Butterfield, Yaron S.; Young, Alice C.; Stott, Jeffrey; Barber, Sarah; Babakaiff, Ryan; Dickson, Mark C.; Matsuo, Corey; Wong, David; Yang, George S.; Smailus, Duane E.; Wetherby, Keith D.; Kwong, Peggy N.; Grimwood, Jane; Brinkley, Charles P.; Brown-John, Mabel; Reddix-Dugue, Natalie D.; Mayo, Michael; Schmutz, Jeremy; Beland, Jaclyn; Park, Morgan; Gibson, Susan; Olson, Teika; Bouffard, Gerard G.; Tsai, Miranda; Featherstone, Ruth; Chand, Steve; Siddiqui, Asim S.; Jang, Wonhee; Lee, Ed; Klein, Steven L.; Blakesley, Robert W.; Zeeberg, Barry R.; Narasimhan, Sudarshan; Weinstein, John N.; Pennacchio, Christa Prange; Myers, Richard M.; Green, Eric D.; Wagner, Lukas; Gerhard, Daniela S.; Marra, Marco A.; Jones, Steven J.M.; Holt, Robert A.

2006-01-01

Sequencing of full-insert clones from full-length cDNA libraries from both Xenopus laevis and Xenopus tropicalis has been ongoing as part of the Xenopus Gene Collection Initiative. Here we present 10,967 full ORF verified cDNA clones (8049 from X. laevis and 2918 from X. tropicalis) as a community resource. Because the genome of X. laevis, but not X. tropicalis, has undergone allotetraploidization, comparison of coding sequences from these two clawed (pipid) frogs provides a unique angle for exploring the molecular evolution of duplicate genes. Within our clone set, we have identified 445 gene trios, each comprised of an allotetraploidization-derived X. laevis gene pair and their shared X. tropicalis ortholog. Pairwise dN/dS, comparisons within trios show strong evidence for purifying selection acting on all three members. However, dN/dS ratios between X. laevis gene pairs are elevated relative to their X. tropicalis ortholog. This difference is highly significant and indicates an overall relaxation of selective pressures on duplicated gene pairs. We have found that the paralogs that have been lost since the tetraploidization event are enriched for several molecular functions, but have found no such enrichment in the extant paralogs. Approximately 14% of the paralogous pairs analyzed here also show differential expression indicative of subfunctionalization. PMID:16672307

Large-scale collection of full-length cDNA and transcriptome analysis in Hevea brasiliensis.

PubMed

Makita, Yuko; Ng, Kiaw Kiaw; Veera Singham, G; Kawashima, Mika; Hirakawa, Hideki; Sato, Shusei; Othman, Ahmad Sofiman; Matsui, Minami

2017-04-01

Natural rubber has unique physical properties that cannot be replaced by products from other latex-producing plants or petrochemically produced synthetic rubbers. Rubber from Hevea brasiliensis is the main commercial source for this natural rubber that has a cis-polyisoprene configuration. For sustainable production of enough rubber to meet demand elucidation of the molecular mechanisms involved in the production of latex is vital. To this end, we firstly constructed rubber full-length cDNA libraries of RRIM 600 cultivar and sequenced around 20,000 clones by the Sanger method and over 15,000 contigs by Illumina sequencer. With these data, we updated around 5,500 gene structures and newly annotated around 9,500 transcription start sites. Second, to elucidate the rubber biosynthetic pathways and their transcriptional regulation, we carried out tissue- and cultivar-specific RNA-Seq analysis. By using our recently published genome sequence, we confirmed the expression patterns of the rubber biosynthetic genes. Our data suggest that the cytoplasmic mevalonate (MVA) pathway is the main route for isoprenoid biosynthesis in latex production. In addition to the well-studied polymerization factors, we suggest that rubber elongation factor 8 (REF8) is a candidate factor in cis-polyisoprene biosynthesis. We have also identified 39 transcription factors that may be key regulators in latex production. Expression profile analysis using two additional cultivars, RRIM 901 and PB 350, via an RNA-Seq approach revealed possible expression differences between a high latex-yielding cultivar and a disease-resistant cultivar. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Kazusa DNA Research Institute.

Large-scale collection of full-length cDNA and transcriptome analysis in Hevea brasiliensis

PubMed Central

Makita, Yuko; Ng, Kiaw Kiaw; Veera Singham, G.; Kawashima, Mika; Hirakawa, Hideki; Sato, Shusei

2017-01-01

Abstract Natural rubber has unique physical properties that cannot be replaced by products from other latex-producing plants or petrochemically produced synthetic rubbers. Rubber from Hevea brasiliensis is the main commercial source for this natural rubber that has a cis-polyisoprene configuration. For sustainable production of enough rubber to meet demand elucidation of the molecular mechanisms involved in the production of latex is vital. To this end, we firstly constructed rubber full-length cDNA libraries of RRIM 600 cultivar and sequenced around 20,000 clones by the Sanger method and over 15,000 contigs by Illumina sequencer. With these data, we updated around 5,500 gene structures and newly annotated around 9,500 transcription start sites. Second, to elucidate the rubber biosynthetic pathways and their transcriptional regulation, we carried out tissue- and cultivar-specific RNA-Seq analysis. By using our recently published genome sequence, we confirmed the expression patterns of the rubber biosynthetic genes. Our data suggest that the cytoplasmic mevalonate (MVA) pathway is the main route for isoprenoid biosynthesis in latex production. In addition to the well-studied polymerization factors, we suggest that rubber elongation factor 8 (REF8) is a candidate factor in cis-polyisoprene biosynthesis. We have also identified 39 transcription factors that may be key regulators in latex production. Expression profile analysis using two additional cultivars, RRIM 901 and PB 350, via an RNA-Seq approach revealed possible expression differences between a high latex-yielding cultivar and a disease-resistant cultivar. PMID:28431015

Full-Length Venom Protein cDNA Sequences from Venom-Derived mRNA: Exploring Compositional Variation and Adaptive Multigene Evolution

PubMed Central

Modahl, Cassandra M.; Mackessy, Stephen P.

2016-01-01

Envenomation of humans by snakes is a complex and continuously evolving medical emergency, and treatment is made that much more difficult by the diverse biochemical composition of many venoms. Venomous snakes and their venoms also provide models for the study of molecular evolutionary processes leading to adaptation and genotype-phenotype relationships. To compare venom complexity and protein sequences, venom gland transcriptomes are assembled, which usually requires the sacrifice of snakes for tissue. However, toxin transcripts are also present in venoms, offering the possibility of obtaining cDNA sequences directly from venom. This study provides evidence that unknown full-length venom protein transcripts can be obtained from the venoms of multiple species from all major venomous snake families. These unknown venom protein cDNAs are obtained by the use of primers designed from conserved signal peptide sequences within each venom protein superfamily. This technique was used to assemble a partial venom gland transcriptome for the Middle American Rattlesnake (Crotalus simus tzabcan) by amplifying sequences for phospholipases A2, serine proteases, C-lectins, and metalloproteinases from within venom. Phospholipase A2 sequences were also recovered from the venoms of several rattlesnakes and an elapid snake (Pseudechis porphyriacus), and three-finger toxin sequences were recovered from multiple rear-fanged snake species, demonstrating that the three major clades of advanced snakes (Elapidae, Viperidae, Colubridae) have stable mRNA present in their venoms. These cDNA sequences from venom were then used to explore potential activities derived from protein sequence similarities and evolutionary histories within these large multigene superfamilies. Venom-derived sequences can also be used to aid in characterizing venoms that lack proteomic profiles and identify sequence characteristics indicating specific envenomation profiles. This approach, requiring only venom, provides

Efficient and simpler method to construct normalized cDNA libraries with improved representations of full-length cDNAs

DOEpatents

Soares, Marcelo Bento; Bonaldo, Maria de Fatima

1998-01-01

This invention provides a method to normalize a cDNA library comprising: (a) constructing a directionally cloned library containing cDNA inserts wherein the insert is capable of being amplified by polymerase chain reaction; (b) converting a double-stranded cDNA library into single-stranded DNA circles; (c) generating single-stranded nucleic acid molecules complementary to the single-stranded DNA circles converted in step (b) by polymerase chain reaction with appropriate primers; (d) hybridizing the single-stranded DNA circles converted in step (b) with the complementary single-stranded nucleic acid molecules generated in step (c) to produce partial duplexes to an appropriate Cot; and (e) separating the unhybridized single-stranded DNA circles from the hybridized DNA circles, thereby generating a normalized cDNA library. This invention also provides a method to normalize a cDNA library wherein the generating of single-stranded nucleic acid molecules complementary to the single-stranded DNA circles converted in step (b) is by excising cDNA inserts from the double-stranded cDNA library; purifying the cDNA inserts from cloning vectors; and digesting the cDNA inserts with an exonuclease. This invention further provides a method to construct a subtractive cDNA library following the steps described above. This invention further provides normalized and/or subtractive cDNA libraries generated by the above methods.

Efficient and simpler method to construct normalized cDNA libraries with improved representations of full-length cDNAs

DOEpatents

Soares, M.B.; Fatima Bonaldo, M. de

1998-12-08

This invention provides a method to normalize a cDNA library comprising: (a) constructing a directionally cloned library containing cDNA inserts wherein the insert is capable of being amplified by polymerase chain reaction; (b) converting a double-stranded cDNA library into single-stranded DNA circles; (c) generating single-stranded nucleic acid molecules complementary to the single-stranded DNA circles converted in step (b) by polymerase chain reaction with appropriate primers; (d) hybridizing the single-stranded DNA circles converted in step (b) with the complementary single-stranded nucleic acid molecules generated in step (c) to produce partial duplexes to an appropriate Cot; and (e) separating the unhybridized single-stranded DNA circles from the hybridized DNA circles, thereby generating a normalized cDNA library. This invention also provides a method to normalize a cDNA library wherein the generating of single-stranded nucleic acid molecules complementary to the single-stranded DNA circles converted in step (b) is by excising cDNA inserts from the double-stranded cDNA library; purifying the cDNA inserts from cloning vectors; and digesting the cDNA inserts with an exonuclease. This invention further provides a method to construct a subtractive cDNA library following the steps described above. This invention further provides normalized and/or subtractive cDNA libraries generated by the above methods. 25 figs.

[cDNA library construction from panicle meristem of finger millet].

PubMed

Radchuk, V; Pirko, Ia V; Isaenkov, S V; Emets, A I; Blium, Ia B

2014-01-01

The protocol for production of full-size cDNA using SuperScript Full-Length cDNA Library Construction Kit II (Invitrogen) was tested and high quality cDNA library from meristematic tissue of finger millet panicle (Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn) was created. The titer of obtained cDNA library comprised 3.01 x 10(5) CFU/ml in avarage. In average the length of cDNA insertion consisted about 1070 base pairs, the effectivity of cDNA fragment insertions--99.5%. The selective sequencing of cDNA clones from created library was performed. The sequences of cDNA clones were identified with usage of BLAST-search. The results of cDNA library analysis and selective sequencing represents prove good functionality and full length character of inserted cDNA clones. Obtained cDNA library from meristematic tissue of finger millet panicle represents good and valuable source for isolation and identification of key genes regulating metabolism and meristematic development and for mining of new molecular markers to conduct out high quality genetic investigations and molecular breeding as well.

Reverse genetics with a full-length infectious cDNA of the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus.

PubMed

Scobey, Trevor; Yount, Boyd L; Sims, Amy C; Donaldson, Eric F; Agnihothram, Sudhakar S; Menachery, Vineet D; Graham, Rachel L; Swanstrom, Jesica; Bove, Peter F; Kim, Jeeho D; Grego, Sonia; Randell, Scott H; Baric, Ralph S

2013-10-01

Severe acute respiratory syndrome with high mortality rates (~50%) is associated with a novel group 2c betacoronavirus designated Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). We synthesized a panel of contiguous cDNAs that spanned the entire genome. Following contig assembly into genome-length cDNA, transfected full-length transcripts recovered several recombinant viruses (rMERS-CoV) that contained the expected marker mutations inserted into the component clones. Because the wild-type MERS-CoV contains a tissue culture-adapted T1015N mutation in the S glycoprotein, rMERS-CoV replicated ~0.5 log less efficiently than wild-type virus. In addition, we ablated expression of the accessory protein ORF5 (rMERS•ORF5) and replaced it with tomato red fluorescent protein (rMERS-RFP) or deleted the entire ORF3, 4, and 5 accessory cluster (rMERS-ΔORF3-5). Recombinant rMERS-CoV, rMERS-CoV•ORF5, and MERS-CoV-RFP replicated to high titers, whereas MERS-ΔORF3-5 showed 1-1.5 logs reduced titer compared with rMERS-CoV. Northern blot analyses confirmed the associated molecular changes in the recombinant viruses, and sequence analysis demonstrated that RFP was expressed from the appropriate consensus sequence AACGAA. We further show dipeptidyl peptidase 4 expression, MERS-CoV replication, and RNA and protein synthesis in human airway epithelial cell cultures, primary lung fibroblasts, primary lung microvascular endothelial cells, and primary alveolar type II pneumocytes, demonstrating a much broader tissue tropism than severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus. The availability of a MERS-CoV molecular clone, as well as recombinant viruses expressing indicator proteins, will allow for high-throughput testing of therapeutic compounds and provide a genetic platform for studying gene function and the rational design of live virus vaccines.

Znrg, a novel gene expressed mainly in the developing notochord of zebrafish.

PubMed

Zhou, Yaping; Xu, Yan; Li, Jianzhen; Liu, Yao; Zhang, Zhe; Deng, Fengjiao

2010-06-01

The notochord, a defining characteristic of the chordate embryo is a critical midline structure required for axial skeletal formation in vertebrates, and acts as a signaling center throughout embryonic development. We utilized the digital differential display program of the National Center for Biotechnology Information, and identified a contig of expressed sequence tags (no. Dr. 83747) from the zebrafish ovary library in Genbank. Full-length cDNA of the identified gene was cloned by 5'- and 3'- RACE, and the resulting sequence was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing. The cDNA clone contains 2,505 base pairs and encodes a novel protein of 707 amino acids that shares no significant homology with any known proteins. This gene was expressed in mature oocytes and at the one-cell stage, and persisted until the 5th day of development, as determined by RT-PCR. Transcripts were detected by whole-mount RNA in situ hybridization from the two-cell stage to 72 h of embryonic development. This gene was uniformly distributed from the cleavage stage up to the blastula stage. During early gastrulation, it was present in the dorsal region, and became restricted to the notochord and pectoral fin at 48 and 72 h of embryonic development. Based on its abundance in the notochord, we hypothesized that the novel gene may play an important role in notochord development in zebrafish; we named this gene, zebrafish notochord-related gene, or znrg.

Electrotransfer of the full-length dog dystrophin into mouse and dystrophic dog muscles.

PubMed

Pichavant, Christophe; Chapdelaine, Pierre; Cerri, Daniel G; Bizario, Joao C S; Tremblay, Jacques P

2010-11-01

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is an X-linked genetic disease characterized by the absence of dystrophin (427 kDa). An approach to eventually restore this protein in patients with DMD is to introduce into their muscles a plasmid encoding dystrophin cDNA. Because the phenotype of the dystrophic dog is closer to the human phenotype than is the mdx mouse phenotype, we have studied the electrotransfer of a plasmid carrying the full-length dog dystrophin (FLDYS(dog)) in dystrophic dog muscle. To achieve this nonviral delivery, the FLDYS(dog) cDNA was cloned in two plasmids containing either a cytomegalovirus or a muscle creatine kinase promoter. In both cases, our results showed that the electrotransfer of these large plasmids (∼17 kb) into mouse muscle allowed FLDYS(dog) expression in the treated muscle. The electrotransfer of pCMV.FLDYS(dog) in a dystrophic dog muscle also led to the expression of dystrophin. In conclusion, introduction of the full-length dog dystrophin cDNA by electrotransfer into dystrophic dog muscle is a potential approach to restore dystrophin in patients with DMD. However, the electrotransfer procedure should be improved before applying it to humans.

Genomic, cDNA and embryonic expression analysis of zebrafish IRF6, the gene mutated in the human oral clefting disorders Van der Woude and popliteal pterygium syndromes.

PubMed

Ben, Jin; Jabs, Ethylin Wang; Chong, Samuel S

2005-06-01

Van der Woude syndrome (VWS) and popliteal pterygium syndrome (PPS) are autosomal dominant clefting disorders recently discovered to be caused by mutations in the IRF6 (Interferon Regulatory Factor 6) gene. The IRF gene family consists of nine members encoding transcription factors that share a highly conserved helix-turn-helix DNA-binding domain and a less conserved protein-binding domain. Most IRFs regulate the expression of interferon-alpha and -beta after viral infection, but the function of IRF6 remains unknown. We have isolated a full-length zebrafish irf6 cDNA, which encodes a 492 amino acid protein that contains a Smad-IRF interaction motif and a DNA-binding domain. The zebrafish irf6 gene consists of eight exons and maps to linkage group 22 closest to marker unp1375. By in situ hybridization analysis of embryo whole-mounts and cryosections, we demonstrate that irf6 is first expressed as a maternal transcript. During gastrulation, irf6 expression was concentrated in the forerunner cells. From the bud stage to the 3-somite stage, irf6 expression was observed in the Kupffer's vesicle. No expression could be detected at the 6-somite and 10-somite stages. At the 14-somite stage, expression was detected in the otic placode. At the 17-somite stage, strong expression was also observed in the cloaca. During the pharyngula, hatch and larva periods up to 5 days post-fertilization, irf6 was expressed in the pharyngeal arches, olfactory and otic placodes, and in the epithelial cells of endoderm derived tissues. The latter tissues include the mouth, pharynx, esophagus, endodermal lining of swim bladder, liver, exocrine pancreas, and associated ducts. Overall, the zebrafish expression data are consistent with the observations of lip pits in VWS patients, as well as more recent reports of alae nasi, otitis media and sensorineural hearing loss documented in some patients.

Bitis gabonica (Gaboon viper) snake venom gland: toward a catalog for the full- length transcripts (cDNA) and proteins

PubMed Central

Francischetti, Ivo M. B.; My-Pham, Van; Harrison, Jim; Garfield, Mark K.; Ribeiro, José M. C.

2010-01-01

The venom gland of the snake Bitis gabonica (Gaboon viper) was used for the first time to construct a unidirectional cDNA phage library followed by high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatic analysis. Hundreds of cDNAs were obtained and clustered into contigs. We found mostly novel full-length cDNA coding for metalloproteases (P-II and P-III classes), Lys49-phospholipase A2, serine proteases with essential mutations in the active site, Kunitz protease inhibitors, several C-type lectins, bradykinin-potentiating peptide, vascular endothelial growth factor, nucleotidases and nucleases, nerve growth factor, and L-amino acid oxidases. Two new members of the recently described short coding region family of disintegrin, displaying RGD and MLD motifs are reported. In addition, we have identified for the first time a cytokine-like molecule and a multi-Kunitz protease inhibitor in snake venoms. The CLUSTAL alignment and the unrooted cladograms for selected families of B. gabonica venom proteins are also presented. A significant number of sequences were devoid of database matches, suggesting that their biologic function remains to be identified. This paper also reports the N-terminus of the 15 most abundant venom proteins and the sequences matching their corresponding transcripts. The electronic version of this manuscript, available on request, contains spreadsheets with hyperlinks to FASTA-formatted files for each contig and the best match to the GenBank and Conserved Domain Databases, in addition to CLUSTAL alignments of each contig. We have thus generated a comprehensive catalog of the B. gabonica venom gland, containing for each secreted protein: i) the predicted molecular weight, ii) the predicted isoelectric point, iii) the accession number, and iv) the putative function. The role of these molecules is discussed in the context of the envenomation caused by the Gaboon viper. PMID:15276202

Massive Collection of Full-Length Complementary DNA Clones and Microarray Analyses:. Keys to Rice Transcriptome Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kikuchi, Shoshi

2009-02-01

Completion of the high-precision genome sequence analysis of rice led to the collection of about 35,000 full-length cDNA clones and the determination of their complete sequences. Mapping of these full-length cDNA sequences has given us information on (1) the number of genes expressed in the rice genome; (2) the start and end positions and exon-intron structures of rice genes; (3) alternative transcripts; (4) possible encoded proteins; (5) non-protein-coding (np) RNAs; (6) the density of gene localization on the chromosome; (7) setting the parameters of gene prediction programs; and (8) the construction of a microarray system that monitors global gene expression. Manual curation for rice gene annotation by using mapping information on full-length cDNA and EST assemblies has revealed about 32,000 expressed genes in the rice genome. Analysis of major gene families, such as those encoding membrane transport proteins (pumps, ion channels, and secondary transporters), along with the evolution from bacteria to higher animals and plants, reveals how gene numbers have increased through adaptation to circumstances. Family-based gene annotation also gives us a new way of comparing organisms. Massive amounts of data on gene expression under many kinds of physiological conditions are being accumulated in rice oligoarrays (22K and 44K) based on full-length cDNA sequences. Cluster analyses of genes that have the same promoter cis-elements, that have similar expression profiles, or that encode enzymes in the same metabolic pathways or signal transduction cascades give us clues to understanding the networks of gene expression in rice. As a tool for that purpose, we recently developed "RiCES", a tool for searching for cis-elements in the promoter regions of clustered genes.

Large-Scale Collection and Analysis of Full-Length cDNAs from Brachypodium distachyon and Integration with Pooideae Sequence Resources

PubMed Central

Mochida, Keiichi; Uehara-Yamaguchi, Yukiko; Takahashi, Fuminori; Yoshida, Takuhiro; Sakurai, Tetsuya; Shinozaki, Kazuo

2013-01-01

A comprehensive collection of full-length cDNAs is essential for correct structural gene annotation and functional analyses of genes. We constructed a mixed full-length cDNA library from 21 different tissues of Brachypodium distachyon Bd21, and obtained 78,163 high quality expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from both ends of ca. 40,000 clones (including 16,079 contigs). We updated gene structure annotations of Brachypodium genes based on full-length cDNA sequences in comparison with the latest publicly available annotations. About 10,000 non-redundant gene models were supported by full-length cDNAs; ca. 6,000 showed some transcription unit modifications. We also found ca. 580 novel gene models, including 362 newly identified in Bd21. Using the updated transcription start sites, we searched a total of 580 plant cis-motifs in the −3 kb promoter regions and determined a genome-wide Brachypodium promoter architecture. Furthermore, we integrated the Brachypodium full-length cDNAs and updated gene structures with available sequence resources in wheat and barley in a web-accessible database, the RIKEN Brachypodium FL cDNA database. The database represents a “one-stop” information resource for all genomic information in the Pooideae, facilitating functional analysis of genes in this model grass plant and seamless knowledge transfer to the Triticeae crops. PMID:24130698

Deciphering of the Dual oxidase (Nox family) gene from kuruma shrimp, Marsupenaeus japonicus: full-length cDNA cloning and characterization.

PubMed

Inada, Mari; Kihara, Keisuke; Kono, Tomoya; Sudhakaran, Raja; Mekata, Tohru; Sakai, Masahiro; Yoshida, Terutoyo; Itami, Toshiaki

2013-02-01

In many physiological processes, including the innate immune system, free radicals such as nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) play significant roles. In humans, 2 homologs of Dual oxidases (Duox) generate hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), which is a type of ROS. Here, we report the identification and characterization of a Duox from kuruma shrimp, Marsupenaeus japonicus. The full-length cDNA sequence of the M. japonicus Dual oxidase (MjDuox) gene contains 4695 bp and was generated using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and random amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The open reading frame of MjDuox encodes a protein of 1498 amino acids with an estimated mass of 173 kDa. In a homology analysis using amino acid sequences, MjDuox exhibited 69.3% sequence homology with the Duox of the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. A transcriptional analysis revealed that the MjDuox mRNA is highly expressed in the gills of healthy kuruma shrimp. In the gills, MjDuox expression reached its peak 60 h after injection with WSSV and decreased to its normal level at 72 h. In gene knockdown experiments of free radical-generating enzymes, the survival rates decreased during the early stages of a white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) infection following the knockdown of the NADPH oxidase (MjNox) or MjDuox genes. In the present study, the identification, cloning and gene knockdown of the kuruma shrimp MjDuox are reported. Duoxes have been identified in vertebrates and some insects; however, few reports have investigated Duoxes in crustaceans. This study is the first to identify and clone a Dual oxidase from a crustacean species. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Construction and characterization of a full-length infectious cDNA clone of foot-and-mouth disease virus strain O/JPN/2010 isolated in Japan in 2010.

PubMed

Nishi, Tatsuya; Onozato, Hiroyuki; Ohashi, Seiichi; Fukai, Katsuhiko; Yamada, Manabu; Morioka, Kazuki; Kanno, Toru

2016-06-01

A full-length infectious cDNA clone of the genome of a foot-and-mouth disease virus isolated from the 2010 epidemic in Japan was constructed and designated pSVL-f02. Transfection of Cos-7 or IBRS-2 cells with this clone allowed the recovery of infectious virus. The recovered virus had the same in vitro characterization as the parental virus with regard to antigenicity in neutralization and indirect immunofluorescence tests, plaque size and one-step growth. Pigs were experimentally infected with the parental virus or the recombinant virus recovered from pSVL-f02 transfected cells. There were no significant differences in clinical signs or antibody responses between the two groups, and virus isolation and viral RNA detection from clinical samples were similar. Virus recovered from transfected cells therefore retained the in vitro characteristics and the in vivo pathogenicity of their parental strain. This cDNA clone should be a valuable tool to analyze determinants of pathogenicity and mechanisms of virus replication, and to develop genetically engineered vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease virus. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of infectious Murray Valley encephalitis virus derived from a stably cloned genome-length cDNA.

PubMed

Hurrelbrink, R J; Nestorowicz, A; McMinn, P C

1999-12-01

An infectious cDNA clone of Murray Valley encephalitis virus prototype strain 1-51 (MVE-1-51) was constructed by stably inserting genome-length cDNA into the low-copy-number plasmid vector pMC18. Designated pMVE-1-51, the clone consisted of genome-length cDNA of MVE-1-51 under the control of a T7 RNA polymerase promoter. The clone was constructed by using existing components of a cDNA library, in addition to cDNA of the 3' terminus derived by RT-PCR of poly(A)-tailed viral RNA. Upon comparison with other flavivirus sequences, the previously undetermined sequence of the 3' UTR was found to contain elements conserved throughout the genus FLAVIVIRUS: RNA transcribed from pMVE-1-51 and subsequently transfected into BHK-21 cells generated infectious virus. The plaque morphology, replication kinetics and antigenic profile of clone-derived virus (CDV-1-51) was similar to the parental virus in vitro. Furthermore, the virulence properties of CDV-1-51 and MVE-1-51 (LD(50) values and mortality profiles) were found to be identical in vivo in the mouse model. Through site-directed mutagenesis, the infectious clone should serve as a valuable tool for investigating the molecular determinants of virulence in MVE virus.

Combinatorial Wnt control of zebrafish midbrain-hindbrain boundary formation.

PubMed

Buckles, Gerri R; Thorpe, Christopher J; Ramel, Marie-Christine; Lekven, Arne C

2004-05-01

Wnt signaling is known to be required for the normal development of the vertebrate midbrain and hindbrain, but genetic loss of function analyses in the mouse and zebrafish yield differing results regarding the relative importance of specific Wnt loci. In the zebrafish, Wnt1 and Wnt10b functionally overlap in their control of gene expression in the ventral midbrain-hindbrain boundary (MHB), but they are not required for the formation of the MHB constriction. Whether other wnt loci are involved in zebrafish MHB development is unclear, although the expression of at least two wnts, wnt3a and wnt8b, is maintained in wnt1/wnt10b mutants. In order to address the role of wnt3a in zebrafish, we have isolated a full length cDNA and examined its expression and function via knockdown by morpholino antisense oligonucleotide (MO)-mediated knockdown. The expression pattern of wnt3a appears to be evolutionarily conserved between zebrafish and mouse, and MO knockdown shows that Wnt3a, while not uniquely required for MHB development, is required in the absence of Wnt1 and Wnt10b for the formation of the MHB constriction. In zebrafish embryos lacking Wnt3a, Wnt1 and Wnt10b, the expression of engrailed orthologs, pax2a and fgf8 is not maintained after mid-somitogenesis. In contrast to acerebellar and no isthmus mutants, in which midbrain and hindbrain cells acquire new fates but cell number is not significantly affected until late in embryogenesis, zebrafish embryos lacking Wnt3a, Wnt1 and Wnt10b undergo extensive apoptosis in the midbrain and cerebellum anlagen beginning in mid-somitogenesis, which results in the absence of a significant portion of the midbrain and cerebellum. Thus, the requirement for Wnt signaling in forming the MHB constriction is evolutionarily conserved in vertebrates and it is possible in zebrafish to dissect the relative impact of multiple Wnt loci in midbrain and hindbrain development.

Discovery, characterization and expression of a novel zebrafish gene, znfr, important for notochord formation.

PubMed

Xu, Yan; Zou, Peng; Liu, Yao; Deng, Fengjiao

2010-06-01

Genes specifically expressed in the notochord may be crucial for proper notochord development. Using the digital differential display program offered by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, we identified a novel EST sequence from a zebrafish ovary library (No. XM_701450). The full-length cDNA of this transcript was cloned by performing 3' and 5'-RACE and was further confirmed by PCR and sequencing. The resulting 614 bp gene was found to encode a novel 94 amino acid protein that did not share significant homology with any other known protein. Characterization of the genomic sequence revealed that the gene spanned 4.9 kb and was composed of four exons and three introns. RT-PCR gene expression analysis revealed that our gene of interest was expressed in ovary, kidney, brain, mature oocytes and during the early stages of embryogenesis. During embryonic development, znfr mRNA was found to be expressed in the embryonic shield, chordamesoderm and the vacuolated notochord cells by in situ hybridization. Based on this information, we hypothesize that this novel gene is an important maternal factor required for zebrafish notochord formation during early embryonic development. We have thus named this gene znfr (zebrafish notochord formation related).

Characterization of full-length MHC class II sequences in Indonesian and Vietnamese cynomolgus macaques.

PubMed

Creager, Hannah M; Becker, Ericka A; Sandman, Kelly K; Karl, Julie A; Lank, Simon M; Bimber, Benjamin N; Wiseman, Roger W; Hughes, Austin L; O'Connor, Shelby L; O'Connor, David H

2011-09-01

In recent years, the use of cynomolgus macaques in biomedical research has increased greatly. However, with the exception of the Mauritian population, knowledge of the MHC class II genetics of the species remains limited. Here, using cDNA cloning and Sanger sequencing, we identified 127 full-length MHC class II alleles in a group of 12 Indonesian and 12 Vietnamese cynomolgus macaques. Forty two of these were completely novel to cynomolgus macaques while 61 extended the sequence of previously identified alleles from partial to full length. This more than doubles the number of full-length cynomolgus macaque MHC class II alleles available in GenBank, significantly expanding the allele library for the species and laying the groundwork for future evolutionary and functional studies.

The Drosophila gene collection: Identification of putative full-length cDNAs for 70 percent of D. melanogaster genes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stapleton, Mark; Liao, Guochun; Brokstein, Peter

2002-08-12

Collections of full-length nonredundant cDNA clones are critical reagents for functional genomics. The first step toward these resources is the generation and single-pass sequencing of cDNA libraries that contain a high proportion of full-length clones. The first release of the Drosophila Gene Collection Release 1 (DGCr1) was produced from six libraries representing various tissues, developmental stages, and the cultured S2 cell line. Nearly 80,000 random 5prime expressed sequence tags (EST) from these libraries were collapsed into a nonredundant set of 5849 cDNAs, corresponding to {approx}40 percent of the 13,474 predicted genes in Drosophila. To obtain cDNA clones representing the remainingmore » genes, we have generated an additional 157,835 5prime ESTs from two previously existing and three new libraries. One new library is derived from adult testis, a tissue we previously did not exploit for gene discovery; two new cap-trapped normalized libraries are derived from 0-22hr embryos and adult heads. Taking advantage of the annotated D. melanogaster genome sequence, we clustered the ESTs by aligning them to the genome. Clusters that overlap genes not already represented by cDNA clones in the DGCr1 were analyzed further, and putative full-length clones were selected for inclusion in the new DGC. This second release of the DGC (DGCr2) contains 5061 additional clones, extending the collection to 10,910 cDNAs representing >70 percent of the predicted genes in Drosophila.« less

Rapid, Accurate, and Non-Invasive Measurement of Zebrafish Axial Length and Other Eye Dimensions Using SD-OCT Allows Longitudinal Analysis of Myopia and Emmetropization

PubMed Central

Collery, Ross F.; Veth, Kerry N.; Dubis, Adam M.; Carroll, Joseph; Link, Brian A.

2014-01-01

Refractive errors in vision can be caused by aberrant axial length of the eye, irregular corneal shape, or lens abnormalities. Causes of eye length overgrowth include multiple genetic loci, and visual parameters. We evaluate zebrafish as a potential animal model for studies of the genetic, cellular, and signaling basis of emmetropization and myopia. Axial length and other eye dimensions of zebrafish were measured using spectral domain-optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT). We used ocular lens and body metrics to normalize and compare eye size and relative refractive error (difference between observed retinal radial length and controls) in wild-type and lrp2 zebrafish. Zebrafish were dark-reared to assess effects of visual deprivation on eye size. Two relative measurements, ocular axial length to body length and axial length to lens diameter, were found to accurately normalize comparisons of eye sizes between different sized fish (R2 = 0.9548, R2 = 0.9921). Ray-traced focal lengths of wild-type zebrafish lenses were equal to their retinal radii, while lrp2 eyes had longer retinal radii than focal lengths. Both genetic mutation (lrp2) and environmental manipulation (dark-rearing) caused elongated eye axes. lrp2 mutants had relative refractive errors of −0.327 compared to wild-types, and dark-reared wild-type fish had relative refractive errors of −0.132 compared to light-reared siblings. Therefore, zebrafish eye anatomy (axial length, lens radius, retinal radius) can be rapidly and accurately measured by SD-OCT, facilitating longitudinal studies of regulated eye growth and emmetropization. Specifically, genes homologous to human myopia candidates may be modified, inactivated or overexpressed in zebrafish, and myopia-sensitizing conditions used to probe gene-environment interactions. Our studies provide foundation for such investigations into genetic contributions that control eye size and impact refractive errors. PMID:25334040

Evaluation of vector-primed cDNA library production from microgram quantities of total RNA.

PubMed

Kuo, Jonathan; Inman, Jason; Brownstein, Michael; Usdin, Ted B

2004-12-15

cDNA sequences are important for defining the coding region of genes, and full-length cDNA clones have proven to be useful for investigation of the function of gene products. We produced cDNA libraries containing 3.5-5 x 10(5) primary transformants, starting with 5 mug of total RNA prepared from mouse pituitary, adrenal, thymus, and pineal tissue, using a vector-primed cDNA synthesis method. Of approximately 1000 clones sequenced, approximately 20% contained the full open reading frames (ORFs) of known transcripts, based on the presence of the initiating methionine residue codon. The libraries were complex, with 94, 91, 83 and 55% of the clones from the thymus, adrenal, pineal and pituitary libraries, respectively, represented only once. Twenty-five full-length clones, not yet represented in the Mammalian Gene Collection, were identified. Thus, we have produced useful cDNA libraries for the isolation of full-length cDNA clones that are not yet available in the public domain, and demonstrated the utility of a simple method for making high-quality libraries from small amounts of starting material.

Signal sequence and keyword trap in silico for selection of full-length human cDNAs encoding secretion or membrane proteins from oligo-capped cDNA libraries.

PubMed

Otsuki, Tetsuji; Ota, Toshio; Nishikawa, Tetsuo; Hayashi, Koji; Suzuki, Yutaka; Yamamoto, Jun-ichi; Wakamatsu, Ai; Kimura, Kouichi; Sakamoto, Katsuhiko; Hatano, Naoto; Kawai, Yuri; Ishii, Shizuko; Saito, Kaoru; Kojima, Shin-ichi; Sugiyama, Tomoyasu; Ono, Tetsuyoshi; Okano, Kazunori; Yoshikawa, Yoko; Aotsuka, Satoshi; Sasaki, Naokazu; Hattori, Atsushi; Okumura, Koji; Nagai, Keiichi; Sugano, Sumio; Isogai, Takao

2005-01-01

We have developed an in silico method of selection of human full-length cDNAs encoding secretion or membrane proteins from oligo-capped cDNA libraries. Fullness rates were increased to about 80% by combination of the oligo-capping method and ATGpr, software for prediction of translation start point and the coding potential. Then, using 5'-end single-pass sequences, cDNAs having the signal sequence were selected by PSORT ('signal sequence trap'). We also applied 'secretion or membrane protein-related keyword trap' based on the result of BLAST search against the SWISS-PROT database for the cDNAs which could not be selected by PSORT. Using the above procedures, 789 cDNAs were primarily selected and subjected to full-length sequencing, and 334 of these cDNAs were finally selected as novel. Most of the cDNAs (295 cDNAs: 88.3%) were predicted to encode secretion or membrane proteins. In particular, 165(80.5%) of the 205 cDNAs selected by PSORT were predicted to have signal sequences, while 70 (54.2%) of the 129 cDNAs selected by 'keyword trap' preserved the secretion or membrane protein-related keywords. Many important cDNAs were obtained, including transporters, receptors, and ligands, involved in significant cellular functions. Thus, an efficient method of selecting secretion or membrane protein-encoding cDNAs was developed by combining the above four procedures.

Isolation and characterization of full-length putative alcohol dehydrogenase genes from polygonum minus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamid, Nur Athirah Abd; Ismail, Ismanizan

2013-11-01

Polygonum minus, locally named as Kesum is an aromatic herb which is high in secondary metabolite content. Alcohol dehydrogenase is an important enzyme that catalyzes the reversible oxidation of alcohol and aldehyde with the presence of NAD(P)(H) as co-factor. The main focus of this research is to identify the gene of ADH. The total RNA was extracted from leaves of P. minus which was treated with 150 μM Jasmonic acid. Full-length cDNA sequence of ADH was isolated via rapid amplification cDNA end (RACE). Subsequently, in silico analysis was conducted on the full-length cDNA sequence and PCR was done on genomic DNA to determine the exon and intron organization. Two sequences of ADH, designated as PmADH1 and PmADH2 were successfully isolated. Both sequences have ORF of 801 bp which encode 266 aa residues. Nucleotide sequence comparison of PmADH1 and PmADH2 indicated that both sequences are highly similar at the ORF region but divergent in the 3' untranslated regions (UTR). The amino acid is differ at the 107 residue; PmADH1 contains Gly (G) residue while PmADH2 contains Cys (C) residue. The intron-exon organization pattern of both sequences are also same, with 3 introns and 4 exons. Based on in silico analysis, both sequences contain "classical" short chain alcohol dehydrogenases/reductases ((c) SDRs) conserved domain. The results suggest that both sequences are the members of short chain alcohol dehydrogenase family.

Cloning of a coconut endosperm cDNA encoding a 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase that accepts medium-chain-length substrates.

PubMed Central

Knutzon, D S; Lardizabal, K D; Nelsen, J S; Bleibaum, J L; Davies, H M; Metz, J G

1995-01-01

Immature coconut (Cocos nucifera) endosperm contains a 1-acyl-sn-glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase (LPAAT) activity that shows a preference for medium-chain-length fatty acyl-coenzyme A substrates (H.M. Davies, D.J. Hawkins, J.S. Nelsen [1995] Phytochemistry 39:989-996). Beginning with solubilized membrane preparations, we have used chromatographic separations to identify a polypeptide with an apparent molecular mass of 29 kD, whose presence in various column fractions correlates with the acyltransferase activity detected in those same fractions. Amino acid sequence data obtained from several peptides generated from this protein were used to isolate a full-length clone from a coconut endosperm cDNA library. Clone pCGN5503 contains a 1325-bp cDNA insert with an open reading frame encoding a 308-amino acid protein with a calculated molecular mass of 34.8 kD. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of pCGN5503 to sequences in the data banks revealed significant homology to other putative LPAAT sequences. Expression of the coconut cDNA in Escherichia coli conferred upon those cells a novel LPAAT activity whose substrate activity profile matched that of the coconut enzyme. PMID:8552723

Inferring Higher Functional Information for RIKEN Mouse Full-Length cDNA Clones With FACTS

PubMed Central

Nagashima, Takeshi; Silva, Diego G.; Petrovsky, Nikolai; Socha, Luis A.; Suzuki, Harukazu; Saito, Rintaro; Kasukawa, Takeya; Kurochkin, Igor V.; Konagaya, Akihiko; Schönbach, Christian

2003-01-01

FACTS (Functional Association/Annotation of cDNA Clones from Text/Sequence Sources) is a semiautomated knowledge discovery and annotation system that integrates molecular function information derived from sequence analysis results (sequence inferred) with functional information extracted from text. Text-inferred information was extracted from keyword-based retrievals of MEDLINE abstracts and by matching of gene or protein names to OMIM, BIND, and DIP database entries. Using FACTS, we found that 47.5% of the 60,770 RIKEN mouse cDNA FANTOM2 clone annotations were informative for text searches. MEDLINE queries yielded molecular interaction-containing sentences for 23.1% of the clones. When disease MeSH and GO terms were matched with retrieved abstracts, 22.7% of clones were associated with potential diseases, and 32.5% with GO identifiers. A significant number (23.5%) of disease MeSH-associated clones were also found to have a hereditary disease association (OMIM Morbidmap). Inferred neoplastic and nervous system disease represented 49.6% and 36.0% of disease MeSH-associated clones, respectively. A comparison of sequence-based GO assignments with informative text-based GO assignments revealed that for 78.2% of clones, identical GO assignments were provided for that clone by either method, whereas for 21.8% of clones, the assignments differed. In contrast, for OMIM assignments, only 28.5% of clones had identical sequence-based and text-based OMIM assignments. Sequence, sentence, and term-based functional associations are included in the FACTS database (http://facts.gsc.riken.go.jp/), which permits results to be annotated and explored through web-accessible keyword and sequence search interfaces. The FACTS database will be a critical tool for investigating the functional complexity of the mouse transcriptome, cDNA-inferred interactome (molecular interactions), and pathome (pathologies). PMID:12819151

In vivo imaging and quantitative analysis of changes in axon length using transgenic zebrafish embryos.

PubMed

Kanungo, Jyotshnabala; Lantz, Susan; Paule, Merle G

2011-01-01

We describe an imaging procedure to measure axon length in zebrafish embryos in vivo. Automated fluorescent image acquisition was performed with the ImageXpress Micro high content screening reader and further analysis of axon lengths was performed on archived images using AcuityXpress software. We utilized the Neurite Outgrowth Application module with a customized protocol (journal) to measure the axons. Since higher doses of ethanol (2-2.5%, v/v) have been shown to deform motor neurons and axons during development, here we used ethanol to treat transgenic [hb9:GFP (green fluorescent protein)] zebrafish embryos at 28 hpf (hours post-fertilization). These embryos express GFP in the motor neurons and their axons. Embryos after ethanol treatment were arrayed in 384-well plates for automated fluorescent image acquisition in vivo. Average axon lengths of high dose ethanol-treated embryos were significantly lower than the control. Another experiment showed that there was no significant difference in the axon lengths between the embryos grown for 24h at 22°C and 28.5°C. These test experiments demonstrate that using axon development as an end-point, compound screening can be performed in a time-efficient manner. Published by Elsevier Inc.

[Complete nucleotide sequences and genome structure of two Chinese tobacco mosaic virus isolates deduced from full-length infectious cDNA clones].

PubMed

Yang, G; Liu, X G; Qiu, B S

2000-07-01

The complete nucleotides of two Chinese tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) isolates, TMV-Cv (vulgare strain) and TMV-N14 (an attenuated virus originated from a tomato strain), were determined from their respective full-length infectious cDNA clones and compared with published TMV sequences. The genome structure of TMV-Cv contained 6395 nucleotides, in which four functional open reading frames (ORF), coding for replicase (126 kD/183 kD), movement protein (MP, 30 kD) and coat protein (CP, 17.6 kD) respectively, could be recognized. TMV-N14 contained 6384 nucleotides in its genome. In contrast to TMV-Cv, five functional ORFs encoding the replicase 98.5 kD/126 kD/183 kD, MP(27 kD) and CP(17.6 kD), respectively, were detected in the TMV-N14 genome. TMV-Cv is 99% homologous to a Korean TMV isolate belonging to the vulgare strain at the nucleotide level. TMV-N14 is 99% homologous to a highly virulent Japanese isolate TMV-L (tomato strain) at the nucleotide level. In TMV-N14, one opal nulation (UGA) occurred in the replicase gene and one ochre nutation (UAA) in the MP gene. The former mutation created a potential, additional ORF within the replicase gene, the latter reduced the size of the MP to 27 kD. In addition, there were also 13 amino acid substitutions in the replicase gene of TMV-N14 when compared to that of TMV-L. Collectively, these changes may have significant implications in the attenuation of the virulence of TMV-N14.

Benchmarking of the Oxford Nanopore MinION sequencing for quantitative and qualitative assessment of cDNA populations.

PubMed

Oikonomopoulos, Spyros; Wang, Yu Chang; Djambazian, Haig; Badescu, Dunarel; Ragoussis, Jiannis

2016-08-24

To assess the performance of the Oxford Nanopore Technologies MinION sequencing platform, cDNAs from the External RNA Controls Consortium (ERCC) RNA Spike-In mix were sequenced. This mix mimics mammalian mRNA species and consists of 92 polyadenylated transcripts with known concentration. cDNA libraries were generated using a template switching protocol to facilitate the direct comparison between different sequencing platforms. The MinION performance was assessed for its ability to sequence the cDNAs directly with good accuracy in terms of abundance and full length. The abundance of the ERCC cDNA molecules sequenced by MinION agreed with their expected concentration. No length or GC content bias was observed. The majority of cDNAs were sequenced as full length. Additionally, a complex cDNA population derived from a human HEK-293 cell line was sequenced on an Illumina HiSeq 2500, PacBio RS II and ONT MinION platforms. We observed that there was a good agreement in the measured cDNA abundance between PacBio RS II and ONT MinION (rpearson = 0.82, isoforms with length more than 700bp) and between Illumina HiSeq 2500 and ONT MinION (rpearson = 0.75). This indicates that the ONT MinION can sequence quantitatively both long and short full length cDNA molecules.

Construction of Infectious cDNA Clone of a Chrysanthemum stunt viroid Korean Isolate

PubMed Central

Yoon, Ju-Yeon; Cho, In-Sook; Choi, Gug-Seoun; Choi, Seung-Kook

2014-01-01

Chrysanthemum stunt viroid (CSVd), a noncoding infectious RNA molecule, causes seriously economic losses of chrysanthemum for 3 or 4 years after its first infection. Monomeric cDNA clones of CSVd isolate SK1 (CSVd-SK1) were constructed in the plasmids pGEM-T easy vector and pUC19 vector. Linear positive-sense transcripts synthesized in vitro from the full-length monomeric cDNA clones of CSVd-SK1 could infect systemically tomato seedlings and chrysanthemum plants, suggesting that the linear CSVd RNA transcribed from the cDNA clones could be replicated as efficiently as circular CSVd in host species. However, direct inoculation of plasmid cDNA clones containing full-length monomeric cDNA of CSVd-SK1 failed to infect tomato and chrysanthemum and linear negative-sense transcripts from the plasmid DNAs were not infectious in the two plant species. The cDNA sequences of progeny viroid in systemically infected tomato and chrysanthemum showed a few substitutions at a specific nucleotide position, but there were no deletions and insertions in the sequences of the CSVd progeny from tomato and chrysanthemum plants. PMID:25288987

Identification and characterization of the zebrafish glutathione S-transferase Pi-1.

PubMed

Abunnaja, Maryam S; Kurogi, Katsuhisa; Mohammed, Yasir I; Sakakibara, Yoichi; Suiko, Masahito; Hassoun, Ezdihar A; Liu, Ming-Cheh

2017-10-01

Zebrafish has in recent years emerged as a popular vertebrate model for use in pharmacological and toxicological studies. While there have been sporadic studies on the zebrafish glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), the zebrafish GST gene superfamily still awaits to be fully elucidated. We report here the identification of 15 zebrafish cytosolic GST genes in NCBI GenBank database and the expression, purification, and enzymatic characterization of the zebrafish cytosolic GST Pi-1 (GSTP1). The cDNA encoding the zebrafish GSTP1 was cloned from a 3-month-old female zebrafish, expressed in Eschelichia coli host cells, and purified. Purified GSTP1 displayed glutathione-conjugating activity toward 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene as a representative substrate. The enzymatic characteristics of the zebrafish GSTP1, including pH-dependency, effects of metal cations, and kinetic parameters, were studied. Moreover, the expression of zebrafish GSTP1 at different developmental stages during embryogenesis, throughout larval development, onto maturity was examined. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

RiceFOX: a database of Arabidopsis mutant lines overexpressing rice full-length cDNA that contains a wide range of trait information to facilitate analysis of gene function.

PubMed

Sakurai, Tetsuya; Kondou, Youichi; Akiyama, Kenji; Kurotani, Atsushi; Higuchi, Mieko; Ichikawa, Takanari; Kuroda, Hirofumi; Kusano, Miyako; Mori, Masaki; Saitou, Tsutomu; Sakakibara, Hitoshi; Sugano, Shoji; Suzuki, Makoto; Takahashi, Hideki; Takahashi, Shinya; Takatsuji, Hiroshi; Yokotani, Naoki; Yoshizumi, Takeshi; Saito, Kazuki; Shinozaki, Kazuo; Oda, Kenji; Hirochika, Hirohiko; Matsui, Minami

2011-02-01

Identification of gene function is important not only for basic research but also for applied science, especially with regard to improvements in crop production. For rapid and efficient elucidation of useful traits, we developed a system named FOX hunting (Full-length cDNA Over-eXpressor gene hunting) using full-length cDNAs (fl-cDNAs). A heterologous expression approach provides a solution for the high-throughput characterization of gene functions in agricultural plant species. Since fl-cDNAs contain all the information of functional mRNAs and proteins, we introduced rice fl-cDNAs into Arabidopsis plants for systematic gain-of-function mutation. We generated >30,000 independent Arabidopsis transgenic lines expressing rice fl-cDNAs (rice FOX Arabidopsis mutant lines). These rice FOX Arabidopsis lines were screened systematically for various criteria such as morphology, photosynthesis, UV resistance, element composition, plant hormone profile, metabolite profile/fingerprinting, bacterial resistance, and heat and salt tolerance. The information obtained from these screenings was compiled into a database named 'RiceFOX'. This database contains around 18,000 records of rice FOX Arabidopsis lines and allows users to search against all the observed results, ranging from morphological to invisible traits. The number of searchable items is approximately 100; moreover, the rice FOX Arabidopsis lines can be searched by rice and Arabidopsis gene/protein identifiers, sequence similarity to the introduced rice fl-cDNA and traits. The RiceFOX database is available at http://ricefox.psc.riken.jp/.

RiceFOX: A Database of Arabidopsis Mutant Lines Overexpressing Rice Full-Length cDNA that Contains a Wide Range of Trait Information to Facilitate Analysis of Gene Function

PubMed Central

Sakurai, Tetsuya; Kondou, Youichi; Akiyama, Kenji; Kurotani, Atsushi; Higuchi, Mieko; Ichikawa, Takanari; Kuroda, Hirofumi; Kusano, Miyako; Mori, Masaki; Saitou, Tsutomu; Sakakibara, Hitoshi; Sugano, Shoji; Suzuki, Makoto; Takahashi, Hideki; Takahashi, Shinya; Takatsuji, Hiroshi; Yokotani, Naoki; Yoshizumi, Takeshi; Saito, Kazuki; Shinozaki, Kazuo; Oda, Kenji; Hirochika, Hirohiko; Matsui, Minami

2011-01-01

Identification of gene function is important not only for basic research but also for applied science, especially with regard to improvements in crop production. For rapid and efficient elucidation of useful traits, we developed a system named FOX hunting (Full-length cDNA Over-eXpressor gene hunting) using full-length cDNAs (fl-cDNAs). A heterologous expression approach provides a solution for the high-throughput characterization of gene functions in agricultural plant species. Since fl-cDNAs contain all the information of functional mRNAs and proteins, we introduced rice fl-cDNAs into Arabidopsis plants for systematic gain-of-function mutation. We generated >30,000 independent Arabidopsis transgenic lines expressing rice fl-cDNAs (rice FOX Arabidopsis mutant lines). These rice FOX Arabidopsis lines were screened systematically for various criteria such as morphology, photosynthesis, UV resistance, element composition, plant hormone profile, metabolite profile/fingerprinting, bacterial resistance, and heat and salt tolerance. The information obtained from these screenings was compiled into a database named ‘RiceFOX’. This database contains around 18,000 records of rice FOX Arabidopsis lines and allows users to search against all the observed results, ranging from morphological to invisible traits. The number of searchable items is approximately 100; moreover, the rice FOX Arabidopsis lines can be searched by rice and Arabidopsis gene/protein identifiers, sequence similarity to the introduced rice fl-cDNA and traits. The RiceFOX database is available at http://ricefox.psc.riken.jp/. PMID:21186176

Molecular cloning and characterization of the full-length cDNA encoding the tree shrew (tupaia belangeri) CD28

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Xiaoyan; Yan, Yan; Wang, Sha; Wang, Qinying; Shi, Jian; Shao, Zhanshe; Dai, Jiejie

2017-11-01

CD28 is one of the most important co-stimulatory molecules expressed by naive and primed T cells. The tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri), as an ideal animal model for analyzing mechanism of human diseases receiving extensive attentions, demands essential research tools, in particular in the study of cellular markers and monoclonal antibodies for immunological studies. However, little is known about tree shrew CD28 (tsCD28) until now. In this study, a 663 bp of the full-length CD28 cDNA, encoding a polypeptide of 220 amino acids was cloned from tree shrew spleen lymphocytes. The nucleotide sequence of the tsCD28 showed 85%, 76%, and 75% similarities with human, rat, and mouse, respectively, which showed the affinity relationship between tree shrew and human is much closer than between human and rodents. The open reading frame (ORF) sequence of tsCD28 gene was predicted to be in correspondence with the signal sequence, immunoglobulin variable-like (IgV) domain, transmembrane domain and cytoplasmic tail, respectively.We also analyzed its molecular characteristics with other mammals by using biology software such as Clustal W 2.0 and so forth. Our results showed that tsCD28 contained many features conserved in CD28 genes from other mammals, including conserved signal peptide and glycosylation sites, and several residues responsible for binding to the CD28R, and the tsCD28 amino acid sequence were found a close genetic relationship with human and monkey. The crystal structure and surface charge revealed most regions of tree shrew CD28 molecule surface charges are similar as human. However, compared with human CD28 (hCD28) regions, in some areas, the surface positive charge of tsCD28 was less than hCD28, which may affect antibody binding. The present study is the first report of cloning and characterization of CD28 in tree shrew. This study provides a theoretical basis for the further study the structure and function of tree shrew CD28 and utilize tree shrew as an effective

Rapid and efficient cDNA library screening by self-ligation of inverse PCR products (SLIP).

PubMed

Hoskins, Roger A; Stapleton, Mark; George, Reed A; Yu, Charles; Wan, Kenneth H; Carlson, Joseph W; Celniker, Susan E

2005-12-02

cDNA cloning is a central technology in molecular biology. cDNA sequences are used to determine mRNA transcript structures, including splice junctions, open reading frames (ORFs) and 5'- and 3'-untranslated regions (UTRs). cDNA clones are valuable reagents for functional studies of genes and proteins. Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) sequencing is the method of choice for recovering cDNAs representing many of the transcripts encoded in a eukaryotic genome. However, EST sequencing samples a cDNA library at random, and it recovers transcripts with low expression levels inefficiently. We describe a PCR-based method for directed screening of plasmid cDNA libraries. We demonstrate its utility in a screen of libraries used in our Drosophila EST projects for 153 transcription factor genes that were not represented by full-length cDNA clones in our Drosophila Gene Collection. We recovered high-quality, full-length cDNAs for 72 genes and variously compromised clones for an additional 32 genes. The method can be used at any scale, from the isolation of cDNA clones for a particular gene of interest, to the improvement of large gene collections in model organisms and the human. Finally, we discuss the relative merits of directed cDNA library screening and RT-PCR approaches.

Cloning, sequencing, and expression of cDNA for human. beta. -glucuronidase

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Oshima, A.; Kyle, J.W.; Miller, R.D.

1987-02-01

The authors report here the cDNA sequence for human placental ..beta..-glucuronidase (..beta..-D-glucuronoside glucuronosohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.31) and demonstrate expression of the human enzyme in transfected COS cells. They also sequenced a partial cDNA clone from human fibroblasts that contained a 153-base-pair deletion within the coding sequence and found a second type of cDNA clone from placenta that contained the same deletion. Nuclease S1 mapping studies demonstrated two types of mRNAs in human placenta that corresponded to the two types of cDNA clones isolated. The NH/sub 2/-terminal amino acid sequence determined for human spleen ..beta..-glucuronidase agreed with that inferred from the DNAmore » sequence of the two placental clones, beginning at amino acid 23, suggesting a cleaved signal sequence of 22 amino acids. When transfected into COS cells, plasmids containing either placental clone expressed an immunoprecipitable protein that contained N-linked oligosaccharides as evidenced by sensitivity to endoglycosidase F. However, only transfection with the clone containing the 153-base-pair segment led to expression of human ..beta..-glucuronidase activity. These studies provide the sequence for the full-length cDNA for human ..beta..-glucuronidase, demonstrate the existence of two populations of mRNA for ..beta..-glucuronidase in human placenta, only one of which specifies a catalytically active enzyme, and illustrate the importance of expression studies in verifying that a cDNA is functionally full-length.« less

Cloning and characterization of full-length mouse thymidine kinase 2: the N-terminal sequence directs import of the precursor protein into mitochondria.

PubMed Central

Wang, L; Eriksson, S

2000-01-01

The subcellular localization of mitochondrial thymidine kinase (TK2) has been questioned, since no mitochondrial targeting sequences have been found in cloned human TK2 cDNAs. Here we report the cloning of mouse TK2 cDNA from a mouse full-length enriched cDNA library. The mouse TK2 cDNA codes for a protein of 270 amino acids, with a 40-amino-acid presumed N-terminal mitochondrial targeting signal. In vitro translation and translocation experiments with purified rat mitochondria confirmed that the N-terminal sequence directed import of the precursor TK2 into the mitochondrial matrix. A single 2.4 kb mRNA transcript was detected in most tissues examined, except in liver, where an additional shorter (1.0 kb) transcript was also observed. There was no correlation between the tissue distribution of TK2 activity and the expression of TK2 mRNA. Full-length mouse TK2 protein and two N-terminally truncated forms, one of which corresponds to the mitochondrial form of TK2 and a shorter form corresponding to the previously characterized recombinant human TK2, were expressed in Escherichia coli and affinity purified. All three forms of TK2 phosphorylated thymidine, deoxycytidine and 2'-deoxyuridine, but with different kinetic efficiencies. A number of cytostatic pyrimidine nucleoside analogues were also tested and shown to be good substrates for the various forms of TK2. The active form of full-length mouse TK2 was a dimer, as judged by Superdex 200 chromatography. These results enhance our understanding of the structure and function of TK2, and may help to explain the mitochondrial disorder, mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalomyopathy. PMID:11023833

Generation and Analysis of a Large-Scale Expressed Sequence Tag Database from a Full-Length Enriched cDNA Library of Developing Leaves of Gossypium hirsutum L

PubMed Central

Pang, Chaoyou; Fan, Shuli; Song, Meizhen; Yu, Shuxun

2013-01-01

Background Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) is one of the world’s most economically-important crops. However, its entire genome has not been sequenced, and limited resources are available in GenBank for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying leaf development and senescence. Methodology/Principal Findings In this study, 9,874 high-quality ESTs were generated from a normalized, full-length cDNA library derived from pooled RNA isolated from throughout leaf development during the plant blooming stage. After clustering and assembly of these ESTs, 5,191 unique sequences, representative 1,652 contigs and 3,539 singletons, were obtained. The average unique sequence length was 682 bp. Annotation of these unique sequences revealed that 84.4% showed significant homology to sequences in the NCBI non-redundant protein database, and 57.3% had significant hits to known proteins in the Swiss-Prot database. Comparative analysis indicated that our library added 2,400 ESTs and 991 unique sequences to those known for cotton. The unigenes were functionally characterized by gene ontology annotation. We identified 1,339 and 200 unigenes as potential leaf senescence-related genes and transcription factors, respectively. Moreover, nine genes related to leaf senescence and eleven MYB transcription factors were randomly selected for quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), which revealed that these genes were regulated differentially during senescence. The qRT-PCR for three GhYLSs revealed that these genes express express preferentially in senescent leaves. Conclusions/Significance These EST resources will provide valuable sequence information for gene expression profiling analyses and functional genomics studies to elucidate their roles, as well as for studying the mechanisms of leaf development and senescence in cotton and discovering candidate genes related to important agronomic traits of cotton. These data will also facilitate future whole-genome sequence assembly and annotation

A full-length cDNA infectious clone of North American type 1 porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus: expression of green fluorescent protein in the Nsp2 region.

PubMed

Fang, Ying; Rowland, Raymond R R; Roof, Michael; Lunney, Joan K; Christopher-Hennings, Jane; Nelson, Eric A

2006-12-01

The recent emergence of a unique group of North American type 1 porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) in the United States presents new disease control problems for a swine industry that has already been impacted seriously by North American type 2 PRRSV. In this study, a full-length cDNA infectious clone was generated from a low-virulence North American type 1 PRRSV isolate, SD01-08. In vitro studies demonstrated that the cloned virus maintained growth properties similar to those of the parental virus. Virological, pathological, and immunological observations from animals challenged with cloned viruses were similar to those from animals challenged with the parental virus and a modified live virus vaccine. To further explore the potential use as a viral backbone for expressing foreign genes, the green fluorescent protein (GFP) was inserted into a unique deletion site located at amino acid positions 348 and 349 of the predicted Nsp2 region in the virus, and expression of the Nsp2-GFP fusion protein was visualized by fluorescent microscopy. The availability of this North American type 1 infectious clone provides an important research tool for further study of the basic viral biology and pathogenic mechanisms of this group of type 1 PRRSV in the United States.

A Full-Length cDNA Infectious Clone of North American Type 1 Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus: Expression of Green Fluorescent Protein in the Nsp2 Region▿

PubMed Central

Fang, Ying; Rowland, Raymond R. R.; Roof, Michael; Lunney, Joan K.; Christopher-Hennings, Jane; Nelson, Eric A.

2006-01-01

The recent emergence of a unique group of North American type 1 porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) in the United States presents new disease control problems for a swine industry that has already been impacted seriously by North American type 2 PRRSV. In this study, a full-length cDNA infectious clone was generated from a low-virulence North American type 1 PRRSV isolate, SD01-08. In vitro studies demonstrated that the cloned virus maintained growth properties similar to those of the parental virus. Virological, pathological, and immunological observations from animals challenged with cloned viruses were similar to those from animals challenged with the parental virus and a modified live virus vaccine. To further explore the potential use as a viral backbone for expressing foreign genes, the green fluorescent protein (GFP) was inserted into a unique deletion site located at amino acid positions 348 and 349 of the predicted Nsp2 region in the virus, and expression of the Nsp2-GFP fusion protein was visualized by fluorescent microscopy. The availability of this North American type 1 infectious clone provides an important research tool for further study of the basic viral biology and pathogenic mechanisms of this group of type 1 PRRSV in the United States. PMID:16971421

Construction of a normalized full-length cDNA library of cephalopod Amphioctopus fangsiao and development of microsatellite markers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Feng, Yanwei; Liu, Wenfen; Xu, Xin; Yang, Jianmin; Wang, Weijun; Wei, Xiumei; Liu, Xiangquan; Sun, Guohua

2017-10-01

Amphioctopus fangsiao is one of the most economically important species and has been considered to be a candidate for aquaculture. In order to facilitate its fine-scale genetic analyses, we constructed a normalized full-length library successfully and developed a set of microsatellite markers in this study. The normalized full-length library had a storage capacity of 6.9×105 independent clones. The recombination efficiency was 95% and the average size of inserted fragments was longer than 1000 bp. A total of 3440 high quality ESTs were obtained, which were assembled into 1803 unigenes. Of these unigenes, 450 (25%) were assigned into 33 Gene Ontology terms, 576 (31.9%) into 153 Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathways, and 275 (15.3%) into 22 Clusters of Orthologous Groups. Seventy-six polymorphic microsatellite markers were identified. The number of alleles per locus ranged from 4 to 17, and the observed and expected heterozygosities varied between 0.167 and 0.967 and between 0.326 and 0.944, respectively. Twelve loci were significantly deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium after Bonferroni correction and no linkage disequilibrium was found between different loci. This study provided not only a useful resource for the isolation of the functional genes, but also a set of informative microsatellites for the assessment of population structure and conservation genetics of A. fangsiao.

Otoferlin Deficiency in Zebrafish Results in Defects in Balance and Hearing: Rescue of the Balance and Hearing Phenotype with Full-Length and Truncated Forms of Mouse Otoferlin

PubMed Central

Chatterjee, Paroma; Padmanarayana, Murugesh; Abdullah, Nazish; Holman, Chelsea L.; LaDu, Jane; Tanguay, Robert L.

2015-01-01

Sensory hair cells convert mechanical motion into chemical signals. Otoferlin, a six-C2 domain transmembrane protein linked to deafness in humans, is hypothesized to play a role in exocytosis at hair cell ribbon synapses. To date, however, otoferlin has been studied almost exclusively in mouse models, and no rescue experiments have been reported. Here we describe the phenotype associated with morpholino-induced otoferlin knockdown in zebrafish and report the results of rescue experiments conducted with full-length and truncated forms of otoferlin. We found that expression of otoferlin occurs early in development and is restricted to hair cells and the midbrain. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed localization to both apical and basolateral regions of hair cells. Knockdown of otoferlin resulted in hearing and balance defects, as well as locomotion deficiencies. Further, otoferlin morphants had uninflated swim bladders. Rescue experiments conducted with mouse otoferlin restored hearing, balance, and inflation of the swim bladder. Remarkably, truncated forms of otoferlin retaining the C-terminal C2F domain also rescued the otoferlin knockdown phenotype, while the individual N-terminal C2A domain did not. We conclude that otoferlin plays an evolutionarily conserved role in vertebrate hearing and that truncated forms of otoferlin can rescue hearing and balance. PMID:25582200

A transgenic zebrafish model for monitoring xbp1 splicing and endoplasmic reticulum stress in vivo.

PubMed

Li, Junling; Chen, Zhiliang; Gao, Lian-Yong; Colorni, Angelo; Ucko, Michal; Fang, Shengyun; Du, Shao Jun

2015-08-01

Accumulation of misfolded or unfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) triggers ER stress that initiates unfolded protein response (UPR). XBP1 is a transcription factor that mediates one of the key signaling pathways of UPR to cope with ER stress through regulating gene expression. Activation of XBP1 involves an unconventional mRNA splicing catalyzed by IRE1 endonuclease that removes an internal 26 nucleotides from xbp1 mRNA transcripts in the cytoplasm. Researchers have taken advantage of this unique activation mechanism to monitor XBP1 activation, thereby UPR, in cell culture and transgenic models. Here we report a Tg(ef1α:xbp1δ-gfp) transgenic zebrafish line to monitor XBP1 activation using GFP as a reporter especially in zebrafish oocytes and developing embryos. The Tg(ef1α:xbp1δ-gfp) transgene was constructed using part of the zebrafish xbp1 cDNA containing the splicing element. ER stress induced splicing results in the cDNA encoding a GFP-tagged partial XBP1 without the transactivation activation domain (XBP1Δ-GFP). The results showed that xbp1 transcripts mainly exist as the spliced active isoform in unfertilized oocytes and zebrafish embryos prior to zygotic gene activation at 3 hours post fertilization. A strong GFP expression was observed in unfertilized oocytes, eyes, brain and skeletal muscle in addition to a weak expression in the hatching gland. Incubation of transgenic zebrafish embryos with (dithiothreitol) DTT significantly induced XBP1Δ-GFP expression. Collectively, these studies unveil the presence of maternal xbp1 splicing in zebrafish oocytes, fertilized eggs and early stage embryos. The Tg(ef1α:xbp1δ-gfp) transgenic zebrafish provides a useful model for in vivo monitoring xbp1 splicing during development and under ER stress conditions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

RICD: a rice indica cDNA database resource for rice functional genomics.

PubMed

Lu, Tingting; Huang, Xuehui; Zhu, Chuanrang; Huang, Tao; Zhao, Qiang; Xie, Kabing; Xiong, Lizhong; Zhang, Qifa; Han, Bin

2008-11-26

The Oryza sativa L. indica subspecies is the most widely cultivated rice. During the last few years, we have collected over 20,000 putative full-length cDNAs and over 40,000 ESTs isolated from various cDNA libraries of two indica varieties Guangluai 4 and Minghui 63. A database of the rice indica cDNAs was therefore built to provide a comprehensive web data source for searching and retrieving the indica cDNA clones. Rice Indica cDNA Database (RICD) is an online MySQL-PHP driven database with a user-friendly web interface. It allows investigators to query the cDNA clones by keyword, genome position, nucleotide or protein sequence, and putative function. It also provides a series of information, including sequences, protein domain annotations, similarity search results, SNPs and InDels information, and hyperlinks to gene annotation in both The Rice Annotation Project Database (RAP-DB) and The TIGR Rice Genome Annotation Resource, expression atlas in RiceGE and variation report in Gramene of each cDNA. The online rice indica cDNA database provides cDNA resource with comprehensive information to researchers for functional analysis of indica subspecies and for comparative genomics. The RICD database is available through our website http://www.ncgr.ac.cn/ricd.

Ectopic expression of hoxb2 after retinoic acid treatment or mRNA injection: disruption of hindbrain and craniofacial morphogenesis in zebrafish embryos.

PubMed

Yan, Y L; Jowett, T; Postlethwait, J H

1998-12-01

To investigate pattern formation in the vertebrate hindbrain, we isolated a full length hoxb2 cDNA clone from zebrafish. In a gene phylogeny, zebrafish hoxb2 clusters with human HOXB2, and it maps on linkage group 3 along with several other loci whose orthologues are syntenic with human HOXB2. In the hindbrain, hoxb2 is expressed at high levels in rhombomere 3 (r3), lower levels in r4, still lower in r5, and at undetectable levels in r6. In r7, r8, and the rostral spinal cord, hoxb2 is expressed at a lower level than in r5. Lateral cells appearing to emanate from r4 express both hoxb2 and dlx2, suggesting that they are neural crest. Overexpression of hoxb2 by mRNA injections into early cleavage stage embryos resulted in abnormal morphogenesis of the midbrain and rostral hindbrain, abnormal patterning in r4, fusion of cartilage elements arising from pharyngeal arches 1 and 2, and ectopic expression of krx20 and valentino (but not pax2, rtk1, or hoxb1) in the rostral hindbrain, midbrain, and, surprisingly, the eye. Treatments with retinoic acid produced a phenotype similar to that of ectopic hoxb2 expression, including ectopic krx20 (but not valentino) expression in the eye, and fusion of cartilages from pharyngeal arches 1 and 2. The results suggest that hoxb2 plays an important role in the patterning of hindbrain and pharyngeal arches in the zebrafish.

The expression of full length Gp91-phox protein is associated with reduced amphotropic retroviral production.

PubMed

Bellantuono, I; Lashford, L S; Rafferty, J A; Fairbairn, L J

2000-05-01

As a single gene defect in mature bone marrow cells, chronic granulomatous disease (X-CGD) represents a disorder which may be amenable to gene therapy by the transfer of the missing subunit into hemopoietic stem cells. In the majority of cases lack of Gp91-phox causes the disease. So far, studies involving transfer of Gp91-phox cDNA, including a phase I clinical trial, have yielded disappointing results. Most often, low titers of virus have been reported. In the present study we investigated the possible reasons for low titer amphotropic viral production. To investigate the effect of Gp91 cDNA on the efficiency of retroviral production from the packaging cell line, GP+envAm12, we constructed vectors containing either the native cDNA, truncated versions of the cDNA or a mutated form (LATG) in which the natural translational start codon was changed to a stop codon. Following derivation of clonal packaging cell lines, these were assessed for viral titer by RNA slot blot and analyzed by non-parametrical statistical analysis (Whitney-Mann U-test). An improvement in viral titer of just over two-fold was found in packaging cells containing the start-codon mutant of Gp91 and no evidence of truncated viral RNA was seen in these cells. Further analysis revealed the presence of rearranged forms of the provirus in Gp91-expressing cells, and the production of truncated, unpackaged viral RNA. Protein analysis revealed that LATG-transduced cells did not express full-length Gp91-phox, whereas those containing the wild-type cDNA did. However, a truncated protein was seen in ATG-transduced cells which was also present in wild type cells. No evidence for the presence of a negative transcriptional regulatory element was found from studies with the deletion mutants. A statistically significant effect of protein production on the production of virus from Gp91-expressing cells was found. Our data point to a need to restrict expression of the Gp91-phox protein and its derivatives in order

Cloning and characterization of two novel zebrafish P2X receptor subunits.

PubMed

Diaz-Hernandez, Miguel; Cox, Jane A; Migita, Keisuke; Haines, William; Egan, Terrance M; Voigt, Mark M

2002-07-26

In this report we describe the cloning and characterization of two P2X receptor subunits cloned from the zebrafish (Danio rerio). Primary sequence analysis suggests that one cDNA encodes an ortholog of the mammalian P2X(4) subunit and the second cDNA encodes the ortholog of the mammalian P2X(5) subunit. The zP2X(4) subunit forms a homo-oligomeric receptor that displays a low affinity for ATP (EC(50)=274+/-48 microM) and very low affinity (EC(50)>500 microM) for other purinergic ligands such as alphabetameATP, suramin, and PPADS. As seen with the mammalian orthologs, the zP2X(5) subunit forms a homo-oligomeric receptor that yields very small whole-cell currents (<20pA), making determination of an EC(50) problematic. Both subunit genes were physically mapped onto the zebrafish genome using radiation hybrid analysis of the T51 panel, with the zp2x4 localized to LG21 and zp2x5 to LG5.

Constructing and detecting a cDNA library for mites.

PubMed

Hu, Li; Zhao, YaE; Cheng, Juan; Yang, YuanJun; Li, Chen; Lu, ZhaoHui

2015-10-01

RNA extraction and construction of complementary DNA (cDNA) library for mites have been quite challenging due to difficulties in acquiring tiny living mites and breaking their hard chitin. The present study is to explore a better method to construct cDNA library for mites that will lay the foundation on transcriptome and molecular pathogenesis research. We selected Psoroptes cuniculi as an experimental subject and took the following steps to construct and verify cDNA library. First, we combined liquid nitrogen grinding with TRIzol for total RNA extraction. Then, switching mechanism at 5' end of the RNA transcript (SMART) technique was used to construct full-length cDNA library. To evaluate the quality of cDNA library, the library titer and recombination rate were calculated. The reliability of cDNA library was detected by sequencing and analyzing positive clones and genes amplified by specific primers. The results showed that the RNA concentration was 836 ng/μl and the absorbance ratio at 260/280 nm was 1.82. The library titer was 5.31 × 10(5) plaque-forming unit (PFU)/ml and the recombination rate was 98.21%, indicating that the library was of good quality. In the 33 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) of P. cuniculi, two clones of 1656 and 1658 bp were almost identical with only three variable sites detected, which had an identity of 99.63% with that of Psoroptes ovis, indicating that the cDNA library was reliable. Further detection by specific primers demonstrated that the 553-bp Pso c II gene sequences of P. cuniculi had an identity of 98.56% with those of P. ovis, confirming that the cDNA library was not only reliable but also feasible.

Construction of cDNA expression library of watermelon for isolation of ClWRKY1 transcription factors gene involved in resistance to Fusarium wilt.

PubMed

Yang, Bing-Yan; Huo, Xiu-Ai; Li, Peng-Fei; Wang, Cui-Xia; Duan, Hui-Jun

2014-08-01

Full-length cDNAs are very important for genome annotation and functional analysis of genes. The number of full-length cDNAs from watermelon remains limited. Here we report first the construction of a full-length enriched cDNA library from Fusarium wilt stressed watermelon (Citrullus lanatus Thunb.) cultivar PI296341 root tissues using the SMART method. The titer of primary cDNA library and amplified library was 2.21 x 10(6) and 2.0 x 10(10) pfu/ml, respectively and the rate of recombinant was above 85%. The size of insert fragment ranged from 0.3 to 2.0 kb. In this study, we first cloned a gene named ClWRKY1, which was 1981 bp long and encoded a protein consisting of 394 amino acids. It contained two characteristic WRKY domains and two zinc finger motifs. Quantitative real-time PCR showed that ClWRKY1 expression levels reached maximum level at 12 h after inoculation with Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. niveum. The full-length cDNA library of watermelon root tissues is not only essential for the cloning of genes which are known, but also an initial key for the screening and cloning of new genes that might be involved in resistance to Fusarium wilt.

Construction of a full-length cDNA Library from Chinese oak silkworm pupa and identification of a KK-42-binding protein gene in relation to pupa-diapause termination.

PubMed

Li, Yu-Ping; Xia, Run-Xi; Wang, Huan; Li, Xi-Sheng; Liu, Yan-Qun; Wei, Zhao-Jun; Lu, Cheng; Xiang, Zhong-Huai

2009-06-24

In this study we successfully constructed a full-length cDNA library from Chinese oak silkworm, Antheraea pernyi, the most well-known wild silkworm used for silk production and insect food. Total RNA was extracted from a single fresh female pupa at the diapause stage. The titer of the library was 5 x 10(5) cfu/ml and the proportion of recombinant clones was approximately 95%. Expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis was used to characterize the library. A total of 175 clustered ESTs consisting of 24 contigs and 151 singlets were generated from 250 effective sequences. Of the 175 unigenes, 97 (55.4%) were known genes but only five from A. pernyi, 37 (21.2%) were known ESTs without function annotation, and 41 (23.4%) were novel ESTs. By EST sequencing, a gene coding KK-42-binding protein in A. pernyi (named as ApKK42-BP; GenBank accession no. FJ744151) was identified and characterized. Protein sequence analysis showed that ApKK42-BP was not a membrane protein but an extracellular protein with a signal peptide at position 1-18, and contained two putative conserved domains, abhydro_lipase and abhydrolase_1, suggesting it may be a member of lipase superfamily. Expression analysis based on number of ESTs showed that ApKK42-BP was an abundant gene in the period of diapause stage, suggesting it may also be involved in pupa-diapause termination.

Construction of a full-length cDNA Library from Chinese oak silkworm pupa and identification of a KK-42-binding protein gene in relation to pupa-diapause termination

PubMed Central

Li, Yu-Ping; Xia, Run-Xi; Wang, Huan; Li, Xi-Sheng; Liu, Yan-Qun; Wei, Zhao-Jun; Lu, Cheng; Xiang, Zhong-Huai

2009-01-01

In this study we successfully constructed a full-length cDNA library from Chinese oak silkworm, Antheraea pernyi, the most well-known wild silkworm used for silk production and insect food. Total RNA was extracted from a single fresh female pupa at the diapause stage. The titer of the library was 5 × 105 cfu/ml and the proportion of recombinant clones was approximately 95%. Expressed sequence tag (EST) analysis was used to characterize the library. A total of 175 clustered ESTs consisting of 24 contigs and 151 singlets were generated from 250 effective sequences. Of the 175 unigenes, 97 (55.4%) were known genes but only five from A. pernyi, 37 (21.2%) were known ESTs without function annotation, and 41 (23.4%) were novel ESTs. By EST sequencing, a gene coding KK-42-binding protein in A. pernyi (named as ApKK42-BP; GenBank accession no. FJ744151) was identified and characterized. Protein sequence analysis showed that ApKK42-BP was not a membrane protein but an extracellular protein with a signal peptide at position 1-18, and contained two putative conserved domains, abhydro_lipase and abhydrolase_1, suggesting it may be a member of lipase superfamily. Expression analysis based on number of ESTs showed that ApKK42-BP was an abundant gene in the period of diapause stage, suggesting it may also be involved in pupa-diapause termination. PMID:19564928

Genomic Analysis of Vaccine-Derived Poliovirus Strains in Stool Specimens by Combination of Full-Length PCR and Oligonucleotide Microarray Hybridization

PubMed Central

Laassri, Majid; Dragunsky, Eugenia; Enterline, Joan; Eremeeva, Tatiana; Ivanova, Olga; Lottenbach, Kathleen; Belshe, Robert; Chumakov, Konstantin

2005-01-01

Sabin strains of poliovirus used in the manufacture of oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV) are prone to genetic variations that occur during growth in cell cultures and the organisms of vaccine recipients. Such derivative viruses often have increased neurovirulence and transmissibility, and in some cases they can reestablish chains of transmission in human populations. Monitoring for vaccine-derived polioviruses is an important part of the worldwide campaign to eradicate poliomyelitis. Analysis of vaccine-derived polioviruses requires, as a first step, their isolation in cell cultures, which takes significant time and may yield viral stocks that are not fully representative of the strains present in the original sample. Here we demonstrate that full-length viral cDNA can be PCR amplified directly from stool samples and immediately subjected to genomic analysis by oligonucleotide microarray hybridization and nucleotide sequencing. Most fecal samples from healthy children who received OPV were found to contain variants of Sabin vaccine viruses. Sequence changes in the 5′ untranslated region were common, as were changes in the VP1-coding region, including changes in a major antigenic site. Analysis of stool samples taken from cases of acute flaccid paralysis revealed the presence of mixtures of recombinant polioviruses, in addition to the emergence of new sequence variants. Avoiding the need for cell culture isolation dramatically shortened the time needed for identification and analysis of vaccine-derived polioviruses and could be useful for preliminary screening of clinical samples. The amplified full-length viral cDNA can be archived and used to recover live virus for further virological studies. PMID:15956413

cDNA cloning, functional expression and cellular localization of rat liver mitochondrial electron-transfer flavoprotein-ubiquinone oxidoreductase protein.

PubMed

Huang, Shengbing; Song, Wei; Lin, Qishui

2005-08-01

A membrane-bound protein was purified from rat liver mitochondria. After being digested with V8 protease, two peptides containing identical 14 amino acid residue sequences were obtained. Using the 14 amino acid peptide derived DNA sequence as gene specific primer, the cDNA of correspondent gene 5'-terminal and 3'-terminal were obtained by RACE technique. The full-length cDNA that encoded a protein of 616 amino acids was thus cloned, which included the above mentioned peptide sequence. The full length cDNA was highly homologous to that of human ETF-QO, indicating that it may be the cDNA of rat ETF-QO. ETF-QO is an iron sulfur protein located in mitochondria inner membrane containing two kinds of redox center: FAD and [4Fe-4S] center. After comparing the sequence from the cDNA of the 616 amino acids protein with that of the mature protein of rat liver mitochondria, it was found that the N terminal 32 amino acid residues did not exist in the mature protein, indicating that the cDNA was that of ETF-QOp. When the cDNA was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae with inducible vectors, the protein product was enriched in mitochondrial fraction and exhibited electron transfer activity (NBT reductase activity) of ETF-QO. Results demonstrated that the 32 amino acid peptide was a mitochondrial targeting peptide, and both FAD and iron-sulfur cluster were inserted properly into the expressed ETF-QO. ETF-QO had a high level expression in rat heart, liver and kidney. The fusion protein of GFP-ETF-QO co-localized with mitochondria in COS-7 cells.

TSH Receptor Function Is Required for Normal Thyroid Differentiation in Zebrafish

PubMed Central

Opitz, Robert; Maquet, Emilie; Zoenen, Maxime; Dadhich, Rajesh

2011-01-01

TSH is the primary physiological regulator of thyroid gland function. The effects of TSH on thyroid cells are mediated via activation of its membrane receptor [TSH receptor (TSHR)]. In this study, we examined functional thyroid differentiation in zebrafish and characterized the role of TSHR signaling during thyroid organogenesis. Cloning of a cDNA encoding zebrafish Tshr showed conservation of primary structure and functional properties between zebrafish and mammalian TSHR. In situ hybridization confirmed that the thyroid is the major site of tshr expression during zebrafish development. In addition, we identified tpo, iyd, duox, and duoxa as novel thyroid differentiation markers in zebrafish. Temporal analyses of differentiation marker expression demonstrated the induction of an early thyroid differentiation program along with thyroid budding, followed by a delayed onset of duox and duoxa expression coincident with thyroid hormone synthesis. Furthermore, comparative analyses in mouse and zebrafish revealed for the first time a thyroid-enriched expression of cell death regulators of the B-cell lymphoma 2 family during early thyroid morphogenesis. Knockdown of tshr function by morpholino microinjection into embryos did not affect early thyroid morphogenesis but caused defects in later functional differentiation. The thyroid phenotype observed in tshr morphants at later stages comprised a reduction in number and size of functional follicles, down-regulation of differentiation markers, as well as reduced thyroid transcription factor expression. A comparison of our results with phenotypes observed in mouse models of defective TSHR and cAMP signaling highlights the value of zebrafish as a model to enhance the understanding of functional differentiation in the vertebrate thyroid. PMID:21737742

Identification of differentially expressed genes in the zebrafish hypothalamus - pituitary axis

PubMed Central

Toro, Sabrina; Wegner, Jeremy; Muller, Marc; Westerfield, Monte; Varga, Zoltan M.

2009-01-01

The vertebrate hypothalamic-pituitary axis (HP) is the main link between the central nervous system and endocrine system. Although several signal pathways and regulatory genes have been implicated in adenohypophysis ontogenesis, little is known about hypothalamic and neurohypophysial development or when the HP matures and becomes functional. To identify markers of the HP, we constructed subtractive cDNA libraries between adult zebrafish hypothalamus and pituitary. We identified previously published genes and ESTs and novel zebrafish genes, some of which were predicted by genomic database analysis. We also analyzed expression patterns of these genes and found that several are expressed in the embryonic and larval hypothalamus, neurohypophysis, and/or adenohypophysis. Expression at these stages makes these genes useful markers to study HP maturation and function. PMID:19166982

Sprouting Buds of Zebrafish Research in Malaysia: First Malaysia Zebrafish Disease Model Workshop.

PubMed

Okuda, Kazuhide Shaun; Tan, Pei Jean; Patel, Vyomesh

2016-04-01

Zebrafish is gaining prominence as an important vertebrate model for investigating various human diseases. Zebrafish provides unique advantages such as optical clarity of embryos, high fecundity rate, and low cost of maintenance, making it a perfect complement to the murine model equivalent in biomedical research. Due to these advantages, researchers in Malaysia are starting to take notice and incorporate the zebrafish model into their research activities. However, zebrafish research in Malaysia is still in its infancy stage and many researchers still remain unaware of the full potential of the zebrafish model or have limited access to related tools and techniques that are widely utilized in many zebrafish laboratories worldwide. To overcome this, we organized the First Malaysia Zebrafish Disease Model Workshop in Malaysia that took place on 11th and 12th of November 2015. In this workshop, we showcased how the zebrafish model is being utilized in the biomedical field in international settings as well as in Malaysia. For this, notable international speakers and those from local universities known to be carrying out impactful research using zebrafish were invited to share some of the cutting edge techniques that are used in their laboratories that may one day be incorporated in the Malaysian scientific community.

Digital transcriptome profiling using selective hexamer priming for cDNA synthesis.

PubMed

Armour, Christopher D; Castle, John C; Chen, Ronghua; Babak, Tomas; Loerch, Patrick; Jackson, Stuart; Shah, Jyoti K; Dey, John; Rohl, Carol A; Johnson, Jason M; Raymond, Christopher K

2009-09-01

We developed a procedure for the preparation of whole transcriptome cDNA libraries depleted of ribosomal RNA from only 1 microg of total RNA. The method relies on a collection of short, computationally selected oligonucleotides, called 'not-so-random' (NSR) primers, to obtain full-length, strand-specific representation of nonribosomal RNA transcripts. In this study we validated the technique by profiling human whole brain and universal human reference RNA using ultra-high-throughput sequencing.

Toxicity of multi-walled carbon nanotubes, graphene oxide, and reduced graphene oxide to zebrafish embryos.

PubMed

Liu, Xiao Tong; Mu, Xi Yan; Wu, Xiao Li; Meng, Li Xuan; Guan, Wen Bi; Ma, Yong Qiang; Sun, Hua; Wang, Cheng Ju; Li, Xue Feng

2014-09-01

This study was aimed to investigate the toxic effects of 3 nanomaterials, i.e. multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), graphene oxide (GO), and reduced graphene oxide (RGO), on zebrafish embryos. The 2-h post-fertilization (hpf) zebrafish embryos were exposed to MWCNTs, GO, and RGO at different concentrations (1, 5, 10, 50, 100 mg/L) for 96 h. Afterwards, the effects of the 3 nanomateria on spontaneous movement, heart rate, hatching rate, length of larvae, mortality, and malformations ls were evaluated. Statistical analysis indicated that RGO significantly inhibited the hatching of zebrafish embryos. Furthermore, RGO and MWCNTs decreased the length of the hatched larvae at 96 hpf. No obvious morphological malformation or mortality was observed in the zebrafish embryos after exposure to the three nanomaterials. MWCNTs, GO, and RGO were all toxic to zebrafish embryos to influence embryos hatching and larvae length. Although no obvious morphological malformation and mortality were observed in exposed zebrafish embryos, further studies on the toxicity of the three nanomaterials are still needed. Copyright © 2014 The Editorial Board of Biomedical and Environmental Sciences. Published by China CDC. All rights reserved.

Measuring zebrafish turning rate.

PubMed

Mwaffo, Violet; Butail, Sachit; di Bernardo, Mario; Porfiri, Maurizio

2015-06-01

Zebrafish is becoming a popular animal model in preclinical research, and zebrafish turning rate has been proposed for the analysis of activity in several domains. The turning rate is often estimated from the trajectory of the fish centroid that is output by commercial or custom-made target tracking software run on overhead videos of fish swimming. However, the accuracy of such indirect methods with respect to the turning rate associated with changes in heading during zebrafish locomotion is largely untested. Here, we compare two indirect methods for the turning rate estimation using the centroid velocity or position data, with full shape tracking for three different video sampling rates. We use tracking data from the overhead video recorded at 60, 30, and 15 frames per second of zebrafish swimming in a shallow water tank. Statistical comparisons of absolute turning rate across methods and sampling rates indicate that, while indirect methods are indistinguishable from full shape tracking, the video sampling rate significantly influences the turning rate measurement. The results of this study can aid in the selection of the video capture frame rate, an experimental design parameter in zebrafish behavioral experiments where activity is an important measure.

Isolation and characterization of two cDNA clones encoding for glutamate dehydrogenase in Nicotiana plumbaginifolia.

PubMed

Ficarelli, A; Tassi, F; Restivo, F M

1999-03-01

We have isolated two full length cDNA clones encoding Nicotiana plumbaginifolia NADH-glutamate dehydrogenase. Both clones share amino acid boxes of homology corresponding to conserved GDH catalytic domains and putative mitochondrial targeting sequence. One clone shows a putative EF-hand loop. The level of the two transcripts is affected differently by carbon source.

Transcriptome analysis of zebrafish embryos exposed to deltamethrin.

PubMed

Chueh, Tsung-Cheng; Hsu, Li-Sung; Kao, Chin-Ming; Hsu, Tung-Wei; Liao, Hung-Yu; Wang, Kuan-Yi; Chen, Ssu Ching

2017-05-01

Deltamethrin (DTM), a type II pyrethroid, is one of the most commonly used insecticides. The increased use of pyrethroid leads to potential adverse effects, particularly in sensitive populations such as children and pregnant women. None of the related studies was focused on the transcriptome responses in zebrafish embryos after treatment with DTM; therefore, RNA-seq, a high-throughput method, was performed to analyze the global expression of differential expressed genes (DEGs) in zebrafish embryos treated with DTM (40 and 80 μg/L) from fertilization to 48 h postfertilization (hpf) as compared with that in the control group (without DTM treatment). Two cDNA libraries were generated from treated embryos and one cDNA library from nontreated embryos, respectively. Over 92% of reads mapped to the reference in these three libraries. It was observed that many differential genes were expressed in comparison with embryos before and after DTM. The 20 most differentially expressed upregulated or downregulated genes were majorly involved in the signaling transduction. Validation of selected nine genes expression using qRT-PCR confirmed RNA-seq results. The transcriptome sequences were further subjected to gene ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis, showing G-protein-coupled receptor signaling pathway and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, respectively, were most enriched. The data from this study contributed to a better understanding of the potential consequences of fish exposed to DTM, to an evaluation of the potential threat of DTM to fish populations in aquatic environments. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 32: 1548-1557, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

cDNA cloning and characterization of Type I procollagen alpha1 chain in the skate Raja kenojei.

PubMed

Hwang, Jae-Ho; Yokoyama, Yoshihiro; Mizuta, Shoshi; Yoshinaka, Reiji

2006-05-01

A full-length cDNA of the Type I procollagen alpha1 [pro-alpha1(I)] chain (4388 bp), coding for 1463 amino acid residues in the total length, was determined by RACE PCR using a cDNA library constructed from 4-week embryo of the skate Raja kenojei. The helical region of the skate pro-alpha1(I) chain consisted of 1014 amino acid residues - the same as other fibrillar collagen alpha chains from higher vertebrates. Comparison on denaturation temperatures of Type I collagens from the skate, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and rat (Rattus norvegicus) revealed that the number of Gly-Pro-Pro and Gly-Gly in the alpha1(I) chains could be directly related to the thermal stability of the helix. The expression property of the skate pro-alpha1(I) chain mRNA and phylogenetic analysis with other vertebrate pro-alpha1(I) chains suggested that skate pro-alpha1(I) chain could be a precursor form of the skate Type I collagen alpha1 chain. The present study is the first evidence for the primary structure of full-length pro-alpha1(I) chain in an elasmobranch.

Construction of C35 gene bait recombinants and T47D cell cDNA library.

PubMed

Yin, Kun; Xu, Chao; Zhao, Gui-Hua; Liu, Ye; Xiao, Ting; Zhu, Song; Yan, Ge

2017-11-20

C35 is a novel tumor biomarker associated with metastasis progression. To investigate the interaction factors of C35 in its high expressed breast cancer cell lines, we constructed bait recombinant plasmids of C35 gene and T47D cell cDNA library for yeast two-hybrid screening. Full length C35 sequences were subcloned using RT-PCR from cDNA template extracted from T47D cells. Based on functional domain analysis, the full-length C35 1-348bp was also truncated into two fragments C351-153bp and C35154-348bp to avoid auto-activation. The three kinds of C35 genes were successfully amplified and inserted into pGBKT7 to construct bait recombinant plasmids pGBKT7-C351-348bp, pGBKT7-C351-153bp and pGBKT7-C35154-348bp, then transformed into Y187 yeast cells by the lithium acetate method. Auto-activation and toxicity of C35 baits were detected using nutritional deficient medium and X-α-Gal assays. The T47D cell ds cDNA was generated by SMART TM technology and the library was constructed using in vivo recombination-mediated cloning in the AH109 yeast strain using a pGADT7-Rec plasmid. The transformed Y187/pGBKT7-C351-348bp line was intensively inhibited while the truncated Y187/pGBKT7-C35 lines had no auto-activation and toxicity in yeast cells. The titer of established cDNA library was 2 × 10 7 pfu/mL with high transformation efficiency of 1.4 × 10 6 , and the insert size of ds cDNA was distributed homogeneously between 0.5-2.0 kb. Our research generated a T47D cell cDNA library with high titer, and the constructed two C35 "baits" contained a respective functional immunoreceptor tyrosine based activation motif (ITAM) and the conserved last four amino acids Cys-Ile-Leu-Val (CILV) motif, and therefore laid a foundation for screening the C35 interaction factors in a BC cell line.

Cloning a Chymotrypsin-Like 1 (CTRL-1) Protease cDNA from the Jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai

PubMed Central

Heo, Yunwi; Kwon, Young Chul; Bae, Seong Kyeong; Hwang, Duhyeon; Yang, Hye Ryeon; Choudhary, Indu; Lee, Hyunkyoung; Yum, Seungshic; Shin, Kyoungsoon; Yoon, Won Duk; Kang, Changkeun; Kim, Euikyung

2016-01-01

An enzyme in a nematocyst extract of the Nemopilema nomurai jellyfish, caught off the coast of the Republic of Korea, catalyzed the cleavage of chymotrypsin substrate in an amidolytic kinetic assay, and this activity was inhibited by the serine protease inhibitor, phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride. We isolated the full-length cDNA sequence of this enzyme, which contains 850 nucleotides, with an open reading frame of 801 encoding 266 amino acids. A blast analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence showed 41% identity with human chymotrypsin-like (CTRL) and the CTRL-1 precursor. Therefore, we designated this enzyme N. nomurai CTRL-1. The primary structure of N. nomurai CTRL-1 includes a leader peptide and a highly conserved catalytic triad of His69, Asp117, and Ser216. The disulfide bonds of chymotrypsin and the substrate-binding sites are highly conserved compared with the CTRLs of other species, including mammalian species. Nemopilema nomurai CTRL-1 is evolutionarily more closely related to Actinopterygii than to Scyphozoan (Aurelia aurita) or Hydrozoan (Hydra vulgaris). The N. nomurai CTRL1 was amplified from the genomic DNA with PCR using specific primers designed based on the full-length cDNA, and then sequenced. The N. nomurai CTRL1 gene contains 2434 nucleotides and four distinct exons. The 5′ donor splice (GT) and 3′ acceptor splice sequences (AG) are wholly conserved. This is the first report of the CTRL1 gene and cDNA structures in the jellyfish N. nomurai. PMID:27399771

Cloning a Chymotrypsin-Like 1 (CTRL-1) Protease cDNA from the Jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai.

PubMed

Heo, Yunwi; Kwon, Young Chul; Bae, Seong Kyeong; Hwang, Duhyeon; Yang, Hye Ryeon; Choudhary, Indu; Lee, Hyunkyoung; Yum, Seungshic; Shin, Kyoungsoon; Yoon, Won Duk; Kang, Changkeun; Kim, Euikyung

2016-07-05

An enzyme in a nematocyst extract of the Nemopilema nomurai jellyfish, caught off the coast of the Republic of Korea, catalyzed the cleavage of chymotrypsin substrate in an amidolytic kinetic assay, and this activity was inhibited by the serine protease inhibitor, phenylmethanesulfonyl fluoride. We isolated the full-length cDNA sequence of this enzyme, which contains 850 nucleotides, with an open reading frame of 801 encoding 266 amino acids. A blast analysis of the deduced amino acid sequence showed 41% identity with human chymotrypsin-like (CTRL) and the CTRL-1 precursor. Therefore, we designated this enzyme N. nomurai CTRL-1. The primary structure of N. nomurai CTRL-1 includes a leader peptide and a highly conserved catalytic triad of His(69), Asp(117), and Ser(216). The disulfide bonds of chymotrypsin and the substrate-binding sites are highly conserved compared with the CTRLs of other species, including mammalian species. Nemopilema nomurai CTRL-1 is evolutionarily more closely related to Actinopterygii than to Scyphozoan (Aurelia aurita) or Hydrozoan (Hydra vulgaris). The N. nomurai CTRL1 was amplified from the genomic DNA with PCR using specific primers designed based on the full-length cDNA, and then sequenced. The N. nomurai CTRL1 gene contains 2434 nucleotides and four distinct exons. The 5' donor splice (GT) and 3' acceptor splice sequences (AG) are wholly conserved. This is the first report of the CTRL1 gene and cDNA structures in the jellyfish N. nomurai.

Ultrastructural Mapping of the Zebrafish Gastrointestinal System as a Basis for Experimental Drug Studies

PubMed Central

Shami, Gerald J.; Morsch, Marco; Chung, Roger S.; Braet, Filip

2016-01-01

Research in the field of gastroenterology is increasingly focused on the use of alternative nonrodent model organisms to provide new experimental tools to study chronic diseases. The zebrafish is a particularly valuable experimental platform to explore organ and cell structure-function relationships under relevant biological and pathobiological settings. This is due to its optical transparency and its close-to-human genetic makeup. To-date, the structure-function properties of the GIS of the zebrafish are relatively unexplored and limited to histology and fluorescent microscopy. Occasionally those studies include EM of a given subcellular process but lack the required full histological picture. In this work, we employed a novel combined biomolecular imaging approach in order to cross-correlate 3D ultrastructure over different length scales (optical-, X-ray micro-CT, and high-resolution EM). Our correlated imaging studies and subsequent data modelling provide to our knowledge the first detailed 3D picture of the zebrafish larvae GIS. Our results provide unequivocally a limit of confidence for studying various digestive disorders and drug delivery pathways in the zebrafish. PMID:27340669

Ultrastructural Mapping of the Zebrafish Gastrointestinal System as a Basis for Experimental Drug Studies.

PubMed

Cheng, Delfine; Shami, Gerald J; Morsch, Marco; Chung, Roger S; Braet, Filip

2016-01-01

Research in the field of gastroenterology is increasingly focused on the use of alternative nonrodent model organisms to provide new experimental tools to study chronic diseases. The zebrafish is a particularly valuable experimental platform to explore organ and cell structure-function relationships under relevant biological and pathobiological settings. This is due to its optical transparency and its close-to-human genetic makeup. To-date, the structure-function properties of the GIS of the zebrafish are relatively unexplored and limited to histology and fluorescent microscopy. Occasionally those studies include EM of a given subcellular process but lack the required full histological picture. In this work, we employed a novel combined biomolecular imaging approach in order to cross-correlate 3D ultrastructure over different length scales (optical-, X-ray micro-CT, and high-resolution EM). Our correlated imaging studies and subsequent data modelling provide to our knowledge the first detailed 3D picture of the zebrafish larvae GIS. Our results provide unequivocally a limit of confidence for studying various digestive disorders and drug delivery pathways in the zebrafish.

A DN-mda5 transgenic zebrafish model demonstrates that Mda5 plays an important role in snakehead rhabdovirus resistance.

PubMed

Gabor, K A; Charette, J R; Pietraszewski, M J; Wingfield, D J; Shim, J S; Millard, P J; Kim, C H

2015-08-01

Melanoma Differentiation-Associated protein 5 (MDA5) is a member of the retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I)-like receptor (RLR) family, which is a cytosolic pattern recognition receptor that detects viral nucleic acids. Here we show an Mda5-dependent response to rhabdovirus infection in vivo using a dominant-negative mda5 transgenic zebrafish. Dominant-negative mda5 zebrafish embryos displayed an impaired antiviral immune response compared to wild-type counterparts that can be rescued by recombinant full-length Mda5. To our knowledge, we have generated the first dominant-negative mda5 transgenic zebrafish and demonstrated a critical role for Mda5 in the antiviral response to rhabdovirus. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Zebrafish Health Conditions in the China Zebrafish Resource Center and 20 Major Chinese Zebrafish Laboratories.

PubMed

Liu, Liyue; Pan, Luyuan; Li, Kuoyu; Zhang, Yun; Zhu, Zuoyan; Sun, Yonghua

2016-07-01

In China, the use of zebrafish as an experimental animal in the past 15 years has widely expanded. The China Zebrafish Resource Center (CZRC), which was established in 2012, is becoming one of the major resource centers in the global zebrafish community. Large-scale use and regular exchange of zebrafish resources have put forward higher requirements on zebrafish health issues in China. This article reports the current aquatic infrastructure design, animal husbandry, and health-monitoring programs in the CZRC. Meanwhile, through a survey of 20 Chinese zebrafish laboratories, we also describe the current health status of major zebrafish facilities in China. We conclude that it is of great importance to establish a widely accepted health standard and health-monitoring strategy in the Chinese zebrafish research community.

Molecular Cloning and Characterization of cDNA Encoding a Putative Stress-Induced Heat-Shock Protein from Camelus dromedarius

PubMed Central

Elrobh, Mohamed S.; Alanazi, Mohammad S.; Khan, Wajahatullah; Abduljaleel, Zainularifeen; Al-Amri, Abdullah; Bazzi, Mohammad D.

2011-01-01

Heat shock proteins are ubiquitous, induced under a number of environmental and metabolic stresses, with highly conserved DNA sequences among mammalian species. Camelus dromedaries (the Arabian camel) domesticated under semi-desert environments, is well adapted to tolerate and survive against severe drought and high temperatures for extended periods. This is the first report of molecular cloning and characterization of full length cDNA of encoding a putative stress-induced heat shock HSPA6 protein (also called HSP70B′) from Arabian camel. A full-length cDNA (2417 bp) was obtained by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) and cloned in pET-b expression vector. The sequence analysis of HSPA6 gene showed 1932 bp-long open reading frame encoding 643 amino acids. The complete cDNA sequence of the Arabian camel HSPA6 gene was submitted to NCBI GeneBank (accession number HQ214118.1). The BLAST analysis indicated that C. dromedaries HSPA6 gene nucleotides shared high similarity (77–91%) with heat shock gene nucleotide of other mammals. The deduced 643 amino acid sequences (accession number ADO12067.1) showed that the predicted protein has an estimated molecular weight of 70.5 kDa with a predicted isoelectric point (pI) of 6.0. The comparative analyses of camel HSPA6 protein sequences with other mammalian heat shock proteins (HSPs) showed high identity (80–94%). Predicted camel HSPA6 protein structure using Protein 3D structural analysis high similarities with human and mouse HSPs. Taken together, this study indicates that the cDNA sequences of HSPA6 gene and its amino acid and protein structure from the Arabian camel are highly conserved and have similarities with other mammalian species. PMID:21845074

Characterization of cDNA encoding molt-inhibiting hormone of the crab, Cancer pagurus; expression of MIH in non-X-organ tissues.

PubMed

Lu, W; Wainwright, G; Olohan, L A; Webster, S G; Rees, H H; Turner, P C

2001-10-31

Synthesis of ecdysteroids (molting hormones) by crustacean Y-organs is regulated by a neuropeptide, molt-inhibiting hormone (MIH), produced in eyestalk neural ganglia. We report here the molecular cloning of a cDNA encoding MIH of the edible crab, Cancer pagurus. Full-length MIH cDNA was obtained by using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with degenerate oligonucleotides based upon the amino acid sequence of MIH, in conjunction with 5'- and 3'-RACE. Full-length clones of MIH cDNA were obtained that encoded a 35 amino acid putative signal peptide and the mature 78 amino acid peptide. Of various tissues examined by Northern blot analysis, the X-organ was the sole major site of expression of the MIH gene. However, a nested-PCR approach using non-degenerate MIH-specific primers indicated the presence of MIH transcripts in other tissues. Southern blot analysis indicated a simple gene arrangement with at least two copies of the MIH gene in the genome of C. pagurus. Additional Southern blotting experiments detected MIH-hybridizing bands in another Cancer species, Cancer antennarius and another crab species, Carcinus maenas.

Genome editing using CRISPR/Cas9-based knock-in approaches in zebrafish.

PubMed

Albadri, Shahad; Del Bene, Filippo; Revenu, Céline

2017-05-15

With its variety of applications, the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology has been rapidly evolving in the last few years. In the zebrafish community, knock-out reports are constantly increasing but insertion studies have been so far more challenging. With this review, we aim at giving an overview of the homologous directed repair (HDR)-based knock-in generation in zebrafish. We address the critical points and limitations of the procedure such as cutting efficiency of the chosen single guide RNA, use of cas9 mRNA or Cas9 protein, homology arm size etc. but also ways to circumvent encountered issues with HDR insertions by the development of non-homologous dependent strategies. While imprecise, these homology-independent mechanisms based on non-homologous-end-joining (NHEJ) repair have been employed in zebrafish to generate reporter lines or to accurately edit an open reading frame by the use of intron-targeting modifications. Therefore, with higher efficiency and insertion rate, NHEJ-based knock-in seems to be a promising approach to target endogenous loci and to circumvent the limitations of HDR whenever it is possible and appropriate. In this perspective, we propose new strategies to generate cDNA edited or tagged insertions, which once established will constitute a new and versatile toolbox for CRISPR/Cas9-based knock-ins in zebrafish. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Molecular cloning and characterization of a cDNA encoding the gibberellin biosynthetic enzyme ent-kaurene synthase B from pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima L.).

PubMed

Yamaguchi, S; Saito, T; Abe, H; Yamane, H; Murofushi, N; Kamiya, Y

1996-08-01

The first committed step in the formation of diterpenoids leading to gibberellin (GA) biosynthesis is the conversion of geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGDP) to ent-kaurene. ent-Kaurene synthase A (KSA) catalyzes the conversion of GGDP to copalyl diphosphate (CDP), which is subsequently converted to ent-kaurene by ent-kaurene synthase B (KSB). A full-length KSB cDNA was isolated from developing cotyledons in immature seeds of pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima L.). Degenerate oligonucleotide primers were designed from the amino acid sequences obtained from the purified protein to amplify a cDNA fragment, which was used for library screening. The isolated full-length cDNA was expressed in Escherichia coli as a fusion protein, which demonstrated the KSB activity to cyclize [3H]CDP to [3H]ent-kaurene. The KSB transcript was most abundant in growing tissues, but was detected in every organ in pumpkin seedlings. The deduced amino acid sequence shares significant homology with other terpene cyclases, including the conserved DDXXD motif, a putative divalent metal ion-diphosphate complex binding site. A putative transit peptide sequence that may target the translated product into the plastids is present in the N-terminal region.

Curcumin affects development of zebrafish embryo.

PubMed

Wu, Jheng-Yu; Lin, Chin-Yi; Lin, Tien-Wei; Ken, Chuian-Fu; Wen, Yu-Der

2007-07-01

Embryotoxic and teratogenic effects of curcumin on the development of zebrafish embryo were investi-gated in this study. The LD(50) values of curcumin (24-h incubation) were estimated at 7.5 microM and 5 microM for embryos and larvae, respectively. The developmental defects caused by curcumin treatments include bent or hook-like tails, spinal column curving, edema in pericardial sac, retarded yolk sac resorption, and shorter body length. In curcumin-treated larvae, fluorescence signals of curcumin were found in edamae sac and some skin cells. Together, these results indicate that zebrafish are suitable model organisms to study the toxic effects of curcumin.

The transcriptional activator ZNF143 is essential for normal development in zebrafish

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background ZNF143 is a sequence-specific DNA-binding protein that stimulates transcription of both small RNA genes by RNA polymerase II or III, or protein-coding genes by RNA polymerase II, using separable activating domains. We describe phenotypic effects following knockdown of this protein in developing Danio rerio (zebrafish) embryos by injection of morpholino antisense oligonucleotides that target znf143 mRNA. Results The loss of function phenotype is pleiotropic and includes a broad array of abnormalities including defects in heart, blood, ear and midbrain hindbrain boundary. Defects are rescued by coinjection of synthetic mRNA encoding full-length ZNF143 protein, but not by protein lacking the amino-terminal activation domains. Accordingly, expression of several marker genes is affected following knockdown, including GATA-binding protein 1 (gata1), cardiac myosin light chain 2 (cmlc2) and paired box gene 2a (pax2a). The zebrafish pax2a gene proximal promoter contains two binding sites for ZNF143, and reporter gene transcription driven by this promoter in transfected cells is activated by this protein. Conclusions Normal development of zebrafish embryos requires ZNF143. Furthermore, the pax2a gene is probably one example of many protein-coding gene targets of ZNF143 during zebrafish development. PMID:22268977

The transcriptional activator ZNF143 is essential for normal development in zebrafish.

PubMed

Halbig, Kari M; Lekven, Arne C; Kunkel, Gary R

2012-01-23

ZNF143 is a sequence-specific DNA-binding protein that stimulates transcription of both small RNA genes by RNA polymerase II or III, or protein-coding genes by RNA polymerase II, using separable activating domains. We describe phenotypic effects following knockdown of this protein in developing Danio rerio (zebrafish) embryos by injection of morpholino antisense oligonucleotides that target znf143 mRNA. The loss of function phenotype is pleiotropic and includes a broad array of abnormalities including defects in heart, blood, ear and midbrain hindbrain boundary. Defects are rescued by coinjection of synthetic mRNA encoding full-length ZNF143 protein, but not by protein lacking the amino-terminal activation domains. Accordingly, expression of several marker genes is affected following knockdown, including GATA-binding protein 1 (gata1), cardiac myosin light chain 2 (cmlc2) and paired box gene 2a (pax2a). The zebrafish pax2a gene proximal promoter contains two binding sites for ZNF143, and reporter gene transcription driven by this promoter in transfected cells is activated by this protein. Normal development of zebrafish embryos requires ZNF143. Furthermore, the pax2a gene is probably one example of many protein-coding gene targets of ZNF143 during zebrafish development.

Horse cDNA clones encoding two MHC class I genes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Barbis, D.P.; Maher, J.K.; Stanek, J.

1994-12-31

Two full-length clones encoding MHC class I genes were isolated by screening a horse cDNA library, using a probe encoding in human HLA-A2.2Y allele. The library was made in the pcDNA1 vector (Invitrogen, San Diego, CA), using mRNA from peripheral blood lymphocytes obtained from a Thoroughbred stallion (No. 0834) homozygous for a common horse MHC haplotype (ELA-A2, -B2, -D2; Antczak et al. 1984; Donaldson et al. 1988). The clones were sequenced, using SP6 and T7 universal primers and horse-specific oligonucleotides designed to extend previously determined sequences.

Display of a maize cDNA library on baculovirus infected insect cells.

PubMed

Meller Harel, Helene Y; Fontaine, Veronique; Chen, Hongying; Jones, Ian M; Millner, Paul A

2008-08-12

Maize is a good model system for cereal crop genetics and development because of its rich genetic heritage and well-characterized morphology. The sequencing of its genome is well advanced, and new technologies for efficient proteomic analysis are needed. Baculovirus expression systems have been used for the last twenty years to express in insect cells a wide variety of eukaryotic proteins that require complex folding or extensive posttranslational modification. More recently, baculovirus display technologies based on the expression of foreign sequences on the surface of Autographa californica (AcMNPV) have been developed. We investigated the potential of a display methodology for a cDNA library of maize young seedlings. We constructed a full-length cDNA library of young maize etiolated seedlings in the transfer vector pAcTMVSVG. The library contained a total of 2.5 x 10(5) independent clones. Expression of two known maize proteins, calreticulin and auxin binding protein (ABP1), was shown by western blot analysis of protein extracts from insect cells infected with the cDNA library. Display of the two proteins in infected insect cells was shown by selective biopanning using magnetic cell sorting and demonstrated proof of concept that the baculovirus maize cDNA display library could be used to identify and isolate proteins. The maize cDNA library constructed in this study relies on the novel technology of baculovirus display and is unique in currently published cDNA libraries. Produced to demonstrate proof of principle, it opens the way for the development of a eukaryotic in vivo display tool which would be ideally suited for rapid screening of the maize proteome for binding partners, such as proteins involved in hormone regulation or defence.

Full Transcriptome Analysis of Early Dorsoventral Patterning in Zebrafish

PubMed Central

Horváth, Balázs; Molnár, János; Nagy, István; Tóth, Gábor; Wilson, Stephen W.; Varga, Máté

2013-01-01

Understanding the molecular interactions that lead to the establishment of the major body axes during embryogenesis is one of the main goals of developmental biology. Although the past two decades have revolutionized our knowledge about the genetic basis of these patterning processes, the list of genes involved in axis formation is unlikely to be complete. In order to identify new genes involved in the establishment of the dorsoventral (DV) axis during early stages of zebrafish embryonic development, we employed next generation sequencing for full transcriptome analysis of normal embryos and embryos lacking overt DV pattern. A combination of different statistical approaches yielded 41 differentially expressed candidate genes and we confirmed by in situ hybridization the early dorsal expression of 32 genes that are transcribed shortly after the onset of zygotic transcription. Although promoter analysis of the validated genes suggests no general enrichment for the binding sites of early acting transcription factors, most of these genes carry “bivalent” epigenetic histone modifications at the time when zygotic transcription is initiated, suggesting a “poised” transcriptional status. Our results reveal some new candidates of the dorsal gene regulatory network and suggest that a plurality of the earliest upregulated genes on the dorsal side have a role in the modulation of the canonical Wnt pathway. PMID:23922899

Knockdown of Zebrafish Lumican Gene (zlum) Causes Scleral Thinning and Increased Size of Scleral Coats*

PubMed Central

Yeh, Lung-Kun; Liu, Chia-Yang; Kao, Winston W.-Y.; Huang, Chang-Jen; Hu, Fung-Rong; Chien, Chung-Liang; Wang, I-Jong

2010-01-01

The lumican gene (lum), which encodes one of the major keratan sulfate proteoglycans (KSPGs) in the vertebrate cornea and sclera, has been linked to axial myopia in humans. In this study, we chose zebrafish (Danio rerio) as an animal model to elucidate the role of lumican in the development of axial myopia. The zebrafish lumican gene (zlum) spans ∼4.6 kb of the zebrafish genome. Like human (hLUM) and mouse (mlum), zlum consists of three exons, two introns, and a TATA box-less promoter at the 5′-flanking region of the transcription initiation site. Sequence analysis of the cDNA predicts that zLum encodes 344 amino acids. zLum shares 51% amino acid sequence identity with human lumican. Similar to hLUM and mlum, zlum mRNA is expressed in the eye and many other tissues, such as brain, muscle, and liver as well. Transgenic zebrafish harboring an enhanced GFP reporter gene construct downstream of a 1.7-kb zlum 5′-flanking region displayed enhanced GFP expression in the cornea and sclera, as well as throughout the body. Down-regulation of zlum expression by antisense zlum morpholinos manifested ocular enlargement resembling axial myopia due to disruption of the collagen fibril arrangement in the sclera and resulted in scleral thinning. Administration of muscarinic receptor antagonists, e.g. atropine and pirenzepine, effectively subdued the ocular enlargement caused by morpholinos in in vivo zebrafish larvae assays. The observation suggests that zebrafish can be used as an in vivo model for screening compounds in treating myopia. PMID:20551313

Construction of cDNA library and preliminary analysis of expressed sequence tags from Siberian tiger

PubMed Central

Liu, Chang-Qing; Lu, Tao-Feng; Feng, Bao-Gang; Liu, Dan; Guan, Wei-Jun; Ma, Yue-Hui

2010-01-01

In this study we successfully constructed a full-length cDNA library from Siberian tiger, Panthera tigris altaica, the most well-known wild Animal. Total RNA was extracted from cultured Siberian tiger fibroblasts in vitro. The titers of primary and amplified libraries were 1.30×106 pfu/ml and 1.62×109 pfu/ml respectively. The proportion of recombinants from unamplified library was 90.5% and average length of exogenous inserts was 1.13 kb. A total of 282 individual ESTs with sizes ranging from 328 to 1,142bps were then analyzed the BLASTX score revealed that 53.9% of the sequences were classified as strong match, 38.6% as nominal and 7.4% as weak match. 28.0% of them were found to be related to enzyme/catalytic protein, 20.9% ESTs to metabolism, 13.1% ESTs to transport, 12.1% ESTs to signal transducer/cell communication, 9.9% ESTs to structure protein, 3.9% ESTs to immunity protein/defense metabolism, 3.2% ESTs to cell cycle, and 8.9 ESTs classified as novel genes. These results demonstrated that the reliability and representativeness of the cDNA library attained to the requirements of a standard cDNA library. This library provided a useful platform for the functional genomic research of Siberian tigers. PMID:20941376

Novel approaches to determine contractile function of the isolated adult zebrafish ventricular cardiac myocyte.

PubMed

Dvornikov, Alexey V; Dewan, Sukriti; Alekhina, Olga V; Pickett, F Bryan; de Tombe, Pieter P

2014-05-01

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has been used extensively in cardiovascular biology, but mainly in the study of heart development. The relative ease of its genetic manipulation may indicate the suitability of this species as a cost-effective model system for the study of cardiac contractile biology. However, whether the zebrafish heart is an appropriate model system for investigations pertaining to mammalian cardiac contractile structure-function relationships remains to be resolved. Myocytes were isolated from adult zebrafish hearts by enzymatic digestion, attached to carbon rods, and twitch force and intracellular Ca(2+) were measured. We observed the modulation of twitch force, but not of intracellular Ca(2+), by both extracellular [Ca(2+)] and sarcomere length. In permeabilized cells/myofibrils, we found robust myofilament length-dependent activation. Moreover, modulation of myofilament activation-relaxation and force redevelopment kinetics by varied Ca(2+) activation levels resembled that found previously in mammalian myofilaments. We conclude that the zebrafish is a valid model system for the study of cardiac contractile structure-function relationships.

Identification of cDNAs encoding viper venom hyaluronidases: cross-generic sequence conservation of full-length and unusually short variant transcripts.

PubMed

Harrison, Robert A; Ibison, Frances; Wilbraham, Davina; Wagstaff, Simon C

2007-05-01

The immobilisation of prey by snakes is most efficiently achieved by the rapid dissemination of venom from its site of injection into the blood stream. Hyaluronidase is a common component of snake venoms and has been termed the "venom spreading factor". In the absence of nucleotide or protein sequence data to confirm the functional identity of this venom component, we interrogated a venom gland EST database for the saw-scaled viper, Echis ocellatus (Nigeria), using the gene ontology (GO) term "carbohydrate metabolism". A single hyalurononglucosaminadase-activity matching sequence (EOC00242) was found and used to design PCR primers to acquire the full-length cDNA sequence. Although very different from the bee venom and mammalian hyaluronidase sequences, the E. ocellatus sequence retained all the catalytic, positional and structural residues that characterise this class of carbohydrate metabolising hydrolases. An extraordinarily high level of sequence identity (>95%) was observed in analogous venom gland cDNA sequences isolated (by PCR) from another saw-scaled viper species, E. pyramidum leakeyi (Kenya), and from the sahara horned viper, Cerastes cerastes cerastes (Egypt) and the puff adder, Bitis arietans (Nigeria). Smaller amplicons, lacking hyaluronidase catalytic residues because of 768 bp or 855 bp central deletions, appear to encode either truncated peptides without hyaluronidase activity, or are non-translated transcripts because they lack consensus translation initiating motifs.

Cloning and molecular characterization of scorpion Buthus martensi venom hyaluronidases: a novel full-length and diversiform noncoding isoforms.

PubMed

Xia, Xichao; Liu, Rongzhi; Li, Yi; Xue, Shipeng; Liu, Qingchun; Jiang, Xiao; Zhang, Wenjuan; Ding, Ke

2014-09-01

Hyaluronidase is a common component of scorpion venom and has been considered as "spreading factor" that promotes a fast penetration of the venom in the anaphylactic reaction. In the current study, a novel full-length of hyaluronidase BmHYI and three noncoding isoforms of BmHYII, BmHYIII and BmHYIV were cloned by using a combined strategy based on peptide sequencing and Rapid Amplification of cDNA Ends (RACE). BmHYI has 410 amino acid residues containing the catalytic, positional and five potential N-glycosylation sites. The deduced protein sequence of BmHYI shares significant identity with venom hyaluronidases from bees and snakes. The phylogenetic analysis showed early divergence and independent evolution of BmHYI from other hyaluronidases. An extraordinarily high level of sequence similarity was detected among four sequences. But, BmHYII, BmHYIII and BmHYIV were short of stop-codon in the open reading frame and poly(A) signal in the 3' end. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dual specificity of activin type II receptor ActRIIb in dorso-ventral patterning during zebrafish embryogenesis.

PubMed

Nagaso, H; Suzuki, A; Tada, M; Ueno, N

1999-04-01

Members of the transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) superfamily are thought to regulate specification of a variety of tissue types in early embryogenesis. These effects are mediated through a cell surface receptor complex, consisting of two classes of ser/thr kinase receptor, type I and type II. In the present study, cDNA encoding zebrafish activin type II receptors, ActRIIa and ActRIIb was cloned and characterized. Overexpression of ActRIIb in zebrafish embryos caused dorsalization of embryos, as observed in activin-overexpressing embryos. However, in blastula stage embryos, ActRIIb induced formation of both dorsal and ventro-lateral mesoderm. It has been suggested that these inducing signals from ActRIIb are mediated through each specific type I receptor, TARAM-A and BMPRIA, depending on activin and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP), respectively. In addition, it was shown that a kinase-deleted form of ActRIIb (dnActRIIb) suppressed both activin- and BMP-like signaling pathways. These results suggest that ActRIIb at least has dual roles in both activin and BMP signaling pathways during zebrafish embryogenesis.

Molecular and characterization of NnPPO cDNA from lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) in rhizome browning.

PubMed

Dong, C; Yu, A Q; Yang, M G; Zhou, M Q; Hu, Z L

2016-04-30

The complete cDNA (NnPPO) of polyphenol oxidase in Nelumbo nucifera was successfully isolated, using Rapid amplification cDNA end (RACE) assays. The full-length cDNA of NnPPO was 2069 bp in size, containing a 1791 bp open reading frame coding 597 amino acids. The putative NnPPO possessed the conserved active sites and domains for PPO function. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that NnPPO shared high homology with PPO of high plants, and the homology modeling proved that NnPPO had the typical structure of PPO family. In order to characterize the role of NnPPO, Real-time PCR assay demonstrated that NnPPO mRNA was expressed in different tissues of N. nucifera including young leave, rhizome, flower, root and leafstalk, with the highest expression in rhizome. Patterns of NnPPO expression in rhizome illustrated its mRNA level was significantly elevated, which was consistent with the change of NnPPO activity during rhizome browning. Therefore, transcriptional activation of NnPPO was probably the main reason causing rhizome browning.

Isolation and characterization of cDNA clones for human erythrocyte beta-spectrin.

PubMed Central

Prchal, J T; Morley, B J; Yoon, S H; Coetzer, T L; Palek, J; Conboy, J G; Kan, Y W

1987-01-01

Spectrin is an important structural component of the membrane skeleton that underlies and supports the erythrocyte plasma membrane. It is composed of nonidentical alpha (Mr 240,000) and beta (Mr 220,000) subunits, each of which contains multiple homologous 106-amino acid segments. We report here the isolation and characterization of a human erythroid-specific beta-spectrin cDNA clone that encodes parts of the beta-9 through beta-12 repeat segments. This cDNA was used as a hybridization probe to assign the beta-spectrin gene to human chromosome 14 and to begin molecular analysis of the gene and its mRNA transcripts. RNA transfer blot analysis showed that the reticulocyte beta-spectrin mRNA is 7.8 kilobases in length. Southern blot analysis of genomic DNA revealed the presence of restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) within the beta-spectrin gene locus. The isolation of human spectrin cDNA probes and the identification of closely linked RFLPs will facilitate analysis of mutant spectrin genes causing congenital hemolytic anemias associated with quantitative and qualitative spectrin abnormalities. Images PMID:3478706

Nasal embryonic LHRH factor plays a role in the developmental migration and projection of gonadotropin-releasing hormone 3 neurons in zebrafish.

PubMed

Palevitch, Ori; Abraham, Eytan; Borodovsky, Natalya; Levkowitz, Gil; Zohar, Yonathan; Gothilf, Yoav

2009-01-01

The initiation of puberty and the functioning of the reproductive system depend on proper development of the hypophysiotropic gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) system. One critical step in this process is the embryonic migration of GnRH neurons from the olfactory area to the hypothalamus. Using a transgenic zebrafish model, Tg(gnrh3:EGFP), in which GnRH3 neurons and axons are fluorescently labeled, we investigated whether zebrafish NELF is essential for the development of GnRH3 neurons. The zebrafish nelf cDNA was cloned and characterized. During embryonic development, nelf is expressed in GnRH3 neurons and in target sites of GnRH3 projections and perikarya, before the initiation of their migration. Nelf knockdown resulted in a disruption of the GnRH3 system which included absence or misguiding of GnRH3 axonal outgrowth and incorrect or arrested migration of GnRH3 perikarya. These results suggest that Nelf is an important factor in the developmental migration and projection of GnRH3 neurons in zebrafish. Copyright (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Human somatostatin I: sequence of the cDNA.

PubMed Central

Shen, L P; Pictet, R L; Rutter, W J

1982-01-01

RNA has been isolated from a human pancreatic somatostatinoma and used to prepare a cDNA library. After prescreening, clones containing somatostatin I sequences were identified by hybridization with an anglerfish somatostatin I-cloned cDNA probe. From the nucleotide sequence of two of these clones, we have deduced an essentially full-length mRNA sequence, including the preprosomatostatin coding region, 105 nucleotides from the 5' untranslated region and the complete 150-nucleotide 3' untranslated region. The coding region predicts a 116-amino acid precursor protein (Mr, 12.727) that contains somatostatin-14 and -28 at its COOH terminus. The predicted amino acid sequence of human somatostatin-28 is identical to that of somatostatin-28 isolated from the porcine and ovine species. A comparison of the amino acid sequences of human and anglerfish preprosomatostatin I indicated that the COOH-terminal region encoding somatostatin-14 and the adjacent 6 amino acids are highly conserved, whereas the remainder of the molecule, including the signal peptide region, is more divergent. However, many of the amino acid differences found in the pro region of the human and anglerfish proteins are conservative changes. This suggests that the propeptides have a similar secondary structure, which in turn may imply a biological function for this region of the molecule. Images PMID:6126875

Development of infectious cDNA clones of citrus yellow vein clearing virus using a novel and rapid strategy.

PubMed

Cui, Tian Tian; Bin, Yu; Yan, Jian Hong; Mei, Peng Ying; Li, Zhong An; Zhou, Chang Yong; Song, Zhen

2018-05-04

Yellow vein clearing disease (YVCD) causes significant economic losses in lemon and other species of citrus. Usually, citrus yellow vein clearing virus (CYVCV) is considered to be the causal agent of YVCD. However, mixed infection of CYVCV and Indian citrus ringspot virus (ICRSV) or other pathogens is often detected in citrus plants with YVCD. In this study, we re-examined the causal agent of YVCD to fulfill Koch's postulates. First, the full-length genome of CYVCV isolate AY (CYVCV-AY) was amplified by long-distance RT-PCR from a Eureka lemon [Citrus limon (L) Brum. f.] tree with typical YVCD symptoms. The genomic cDNAs were then cloned into a ternary Yeast-Escherichia coli-Agrobacterium tumefaciens shuttle vector, pCY, using transformation-associated recombination (TAR) strategy, and 15 full-length cDNA clones of CYVCV-AY were obtained. Subsequently, four of these clones were selected randomly and inoculated on Jincheng [C. sinensis (L) Osbeck] seedlings through Agrobacterium-mediated vacuum-infiltration, and it was found that 80 to 100% of inoculated plants were infected with CYVCV by RT-PCR at 20 to 40 days post inoculation (dpi) and by direct tissue blot immunoassay at 60 dpi. The progeny of CYVCV-AY from cDNA clones caused typical symptoms of YVCD such as yellow vein clearing, leaf distortion, and chlorosis, which were the same as that elicited by wild-type virus. Finally, the regeneration of CYVCV-AY genome was confirmed by long-distance RT-PCR in lemon trees inoculated with the infectious cDNA clone. These results proved that CYVCV was the primary causal agent of YVCD. This is the first report on the development of infectious cDNA clones of CYVCV, which lays the foundation for further studies on viral gene functions and virus-host interactions.

Isolation of epidermal cells and cDNA cloning of TNF decoy receptor 3 of conger eel, Conger myriaster.

PubMed

Tsutsui, Shigeyuki; Yoshino, Yuko; Matsui, Saho; Nakamura, Osamu; Muramoto, Koji; Watanabe, Tasuku

2008-03-01

By using EDTA and a trypsin solution, we established a method for isolating the epidermal cells of the conger eel, Conger myriaster. We then identified TNF decoy receptor (DcR) cDNA in the species from a suppression subtractive hybridization library prepared from the epidermal cells stimulated with LPS. The full-length cDNA of conger TNF DcR (conDcR) consisted of 1479 base pairs, and the protein comprised 286 amino acid residues. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that conDcR was clustered into a DcR3 branch. ConDcR is likely to act as an important immune-regulating factor in inhibiting the apoptosis-inducing effect of TNF in the skin of conger eel.

Dietary Strontium Increases Bone Mineral Density in Intact Zebrafish (Danio rerio): A Potential Model System for Bone Research

PubMed Central

Padgett-Vasquez, Steve; Garris, Heath W.; Nagy, Tim R.; D'Abramo, Louis R.; Watts, Stephen A.

2010-01-01

Abstract Zebrafish (Danio rerio) skeletal bone possesses properties similar to human bone, which suggests that they may be used as a model to study mineralization characteristics of the human Haversian system, as well as human bone diseases. One prerequisite for the use of zebrafish as an alternative osteoporotic bone model is to determine whether their bone displays functional plasticity similar to that observed in other bone models. Strontium citrate was supplemented into a laboratory-prepared diet (45% crude protein) to produce dietary strontium levels of 0%, 0.63%, 1.26%, 1.89%, and 2.43% and fed ad libitum twice daily for 12 weeks to 28-day-old intact zebrafish. Length was determined at 4-week intervals, and both weight and length were recorded at 12 weeks. At 12 weeks, seven zebrafish from each dietary level were analyzed for total bone mineral density by microcomputed tomography. Dietary strontium citrate supplementation significantly (p < 0.05) increased zebrafish whole-body and spinal column bone mineral density. In addition, trace amounts of strontium were incorporated into the scale matrix in those zebrafish that consumed strontium-supplemented diets. These findings suggest that zebrafish bone displays plasticity similar to that reported for other bone models (i.e., rat, mouse, and monkey) that received supplements of strontium compounds and zebrafish should be viewed as an increasingly valuable bone model. PMID:20874492

Behaviour of telomere and telomerase during aging and regeneration in zebrafish.

PubMed

Anchelin, Monique; Murcia, Laura; Alcaraz-Pérez, Francisca; García-Navarro, Esther M; Cayuela, María L

2011-02-09

Telomere length and telomerase activity are important factors in the pathobiology of human diseases. Age-related diseases and premature aging syndromes are characterized by short telomeres, which can compromise cell viability, whereas tumour cells can prevent telomere loss by aberrantly upregulating telomerase. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) offers multiple experimental manipulation advantages over other vertebrate models and, therefore, it has been recently considered as a potential model for aging, cancer, and regeneration studies. However, it has only partially been exploited to shed light on these fundamental biological processes. The aim of this study was, therefore, to investigate telomere length and telomerase expression and activity in different strains of zebrafish obtained from different stock centres to determine whether they undergo any changes during aging and regeneration. We found that although both telomerase expression and telomere length increased from embryo to adulthood stages, they drastically declined in aged fish despite telomerase activity was detected in different tissues of old fish. In addition, we observed a weaker upregulation of telomerase expression in regenerating fins of old fish, which well correlates with their impaired regeneration capacity. Strikingly, telomeres were elongated or maintained during the fin regeneration process at all ages and after repeated amputations, likely to support high cell proliferation rates. We conclude that the expression of telomerase and telomere length are closely related during the entire life cycle of the fish and that these two parameters can be used as biomarkers of aging in zebrafish. Our results also reveal a direct relationship between the expression of telomerase, telomere length and the efficiency of tissue regeneration.

Amigo adhesion protein regulates development of neural circuits in zebrafish brain.

PubMed

Zhao, Xiang; Kuja-Panula, Juha; Sundvik, Maria; Chen, Yu-Chia; Aho, Vilma; Peltola, Marjaana A; Porkka-Heiskanen, Tarja; Panula, Pertti; Rauvala, Heikki

2014-07-18

The Amigo protein family consists of three transmembrane proteins characterized by six leucine-rich repeat domains and one immunoglobulin-like domain in their extracellular moieties. Previous in vitro studies have suggested a role as homophilic adhesion molecules in brain neurons, but the in vivo functions remain unknown. Here we have cloned all three zebrafish amigos and show that amigo1 is the predominant family member expressed during nervous system development in zebrafish. Knockdown of amigo1 expression using morpholino oligonucleotides impairs the formation of fasciculated tracts in early fiber scaffolds of brain. A similar defect in fiber tract development is caused by mRNA-mediated expression of the Amigo1 ectodomain that inhibits adhesion mediated by the full-length protein. Analysis of differentiated neural circuits reveals defects in the catecholaminergic system. At the behavioral level, the disturbed formation of neural circuitry is reflected in enhanced locomotor activity and in the inability of the larvae to perform normal escape responses. We suggest that Amigo1 is essential for the development of neural circuits of zebrafish, where its mechanism involves homophilic interactions within the developing fiber tracts and regulation of the Kv2.1 potassium channel to form functional neural circuitry that controls locomotion. © 2014 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Improved coverage of cDNA-AFLP by sequential digestion of immobilized cDNA.

PubMed

Weiberg, Arne; Pöhler, Dirk; Morgenstern, Burkhard; Karlovsky, Petr

2008-10-13

cDNA-AFLP is a transcriptomics technique which does not require prior sequence information and can therefore be used as a gene discovery tool. The method is based on selective amplification of cDNA fragments generated by restriction endonucleases, electrophoretic separation of the products and comparison of the band patterns between treated samples and controls. Unequal distribution of restriction sites used to generate cDNA fragments negatively affects the performance of cDNA-AFLP. Some transcripts are represented by more than one fragment while other escape detection, causing redundancy and reducing the coverage of the analysis, respectively. With the goal of improving the coverage of cDNA-AFLP without increasing its redundancy, we designed a modified cDNA-AFLP protocol. Immobilized cDNA is sequentially digested with several restriction endonucleases and the released DNA fragments are collected in mutually exclusive pools. To investigate the performance of the protocol, software tool MECS (Multiple Enzyme cDNA-AFLP Simulation) was written in Perl. cDNA-AFLP protocols described in the literature and the new sequential digestion protocol were simulated on sets of cDNA sequences from mouse, human and Arabidopsis thaliana. The redundancy and coverage, the total number of PCR reactions, and the average fragment length were calculated for each protocol and cDNA set. Simulation revealed that sequential digestion of immobilized cDNA followed by the partitioning of released fragments into mutually exclusive pools outperformed other cDNA-AFLP protocols in terms of coverage, redundancy, fragment length, and the total number of PCRs. Primers generating 30 to 70 amplicons per PCR provided the highest fraction of electrophoretically distinguishable fragments suitable for normalization. For A. thaliana, human and mice transcriptome, the use of two marking enzymes and three sequentially applied releasing enzymes for each of the marking enzymes is recommended.

Sequencing and characterization of asclepain f: the first cysteine peptidase cDNA cloned and expressed from Asclepias fruticosa latex.

PubMed

Trejo, Sebastián A; López, Laura M I; Caffini, Néstor O; Natalucci, Claudia L; Canals, Francesc; Avilés, Francesc X

2009-07-01

Asclepain f is a papain-like protease previously isolated and characterized from latex of Asclepias fruticosa. This enzyme is a member of the C1 family of cysteine proteases that are synthesized as preproenzymes. The enzyme belongs to the alpha + beta class of proteins, with two disulfide bridges (Cys22-Cys63 and Cys56-Cys95) in the alpha domain, and another one (Cys150-Cys201) in the beta domain, as was determined by molecular modeling. A full-length 1,152 bp cDNA was cloned by RT-RACE-PCR from latex mRNA. The sequence was predicted as an open reading frame of 340 amino acid residues, of which 16 residues belong to the signal peptide, 113 to the propeptide and 211 to the mature enzyme. The full-length cDNA was ligated to pPICZalpha vector and expressed in Pichia pastoris. Recombinant asclepain f showed endopeptidase activity on pGlu-Phe-Leu-p-nitroanilide and was identified by PMF-MALDI-TOF MS. Asclepain f is the first peptidase cloned and expressed from mRNA isolated from plant latex, confirming the presence of the preprocysteine peptidase in the latex.

Sequence analysis of zebrafish chondromodulin-1 and expression profile in the notochord and chondrogenic regions during cartilage morphogenesis.

PubMed

Sachdev, S W; Dietz, U H; Oshima, Y; Lang, M R; Knapik, E W; Hiraki, Y; Shukunami, C

2001-07-01

Chondromodulin-I (ChM-I) is suggested in higher vertebrate systems to function as a key regulatory protein for cartilage development. To further understand the process of chondrogenesis and the function of ChM-I, we have cloned the zebrafish cDNA for chondromodulin-1 (chm1) and have mapped the chm1 gene locus. The expression profile of chm1 was determined during zebrafish embryonic development and compared to that of type II collagen (col2a1). Maternal chm1 transcripts were detected before midblastula transition and zygotic expression of chm1 was first observed in the notochord at the 10-somite stage. At later developmental stages, chm1 expression was detected in areas surrounding the otic vesicles, in the developing craniofacial cartilage elements, and in the chondrogenic region of the pectoral fins.

[Cloning and expression regulation of 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate reductoisomerase cDNA from Alpinia officinarum].

PubMed

Zhang, Chun-Rong; Yang, Quan; Chen, Hu-Biao; Pang, Yu-Xin; Tang, Xiao-Min; Cheng, Xuan-Xuan; Wu, Wen-Ya; Chen, Shi-Min

2012-11-01

The rhizome of Alpinia officinarum is a widely used Chinese herbal medicine. The essential oil in A. officinarum rhizome is mainly composed of 1, 8-cineole and other monoterpenes, as the major bioactive ingredients. In plants, monoterpenes are synthesized through the methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway in the plastids, and 1-deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate reductoisomerase (DXR) is an enzyme catalyzing a committed step of the MEP pathway. In the present study, the full-length cDNA encoding DXR was cloned from the rhizome of A. officinarum, using homology-based RT-PCR and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) techniques. The new cDNA was designated as AoDXR and submitted to GenBank to be assigned with an accession number HQ874658. The full-length cDNA of AoDXR was 1 670 bp containing a 1 419 bp open reading frame encoding a polypeptide of 472 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of 51.48 kDa and an isoelectric point of 6.15. Bioinformatic analyses revealed that AoDXR showed extensive homology with DXRs from other plant species and contained a conserved plastids transit peptide, a Pro-rich region and two highly conserved NADPH-binding motifs in its N-terminal region characterized by all plant DXRs. The phylogenetic analysis revealed that AoDXR belonged to angiosperm DXRs. The structural modeling of AoDXR showed that AoDXR had the typical V-shaped structure of DXR proteins. The tissue expression pattern analysis indicated that AoDXR expressed strongly in leaves, weak in rhizomes of A. officinarum. Exogenous methyl jasmonate (MeJA) could enhance the expression of AoDXR and the production of 1, 8-cineole in A. officinarum rhizomes. The cloning and characterization of AoDXR will be helpful to reveal the molecular regulation mechanism of monoterpene biosynthesis in A. officinarum and provides a candidate gene for metabolic engineering in improving the medicinal quality of A. officinarum rhizome.

Conformational states of the full-length glucagon receptor

PubMed Central

Yang, Linlin; Yang, Dehua; de Graaf, Chris; Moeller, Arne; West, Graham M.; Dharmarajan, Venkatasubramanian; Wang, Chong; Siu, Fai Y.; Song, Gaojie; Reedtz-Runge, Steffen; Pascal, Bruce D.; Wu, Beili; Potter, Clinton S.; Zhou, Hu; Griffin, Patrick R.; Carragher, Bridget; Yang, Huaiyu; Wang, Ming-Wei; Stevens, Raymond C.; Jiang, Hualiang

2015-01-01

Class B G protein-coupled receptors are composed of an extracellular domain (ECD) and a seven-transmembrane (7TM) domain, and their signalling is regulated by peptide hormones. Using a hybrid structural biology approach together with the ECD and 7TM domain crystal structures of the glucagon receptor (GCGR), we examine the relationship between full-length receptor conformation and peptide ligand binding. Molecular dynamics (MD) and disulfide crosslinking studies suggest that apo-GCGR can adopt both an open and closed conformation associated with extensive contacts between the ECD and 7TM domain. The electron microscopy (EM) map of the full-length GCGR shows how a monoclonal antibody stabilizes the ECD and 7TM domain in an elongated conformation. Hydrogen/deuterium exchange (HDX) studies and MD simulations indicate that an open conformation is also stabilized by peptide ligand binding. The combined studies reveal the open/closed states of GCGR and suggest that glucagon binds to GCGR by a conformational selection mechanism. PMID:26227798

A putative peroxidase cDNA from turnip and analysis of the encoded protein sequence.

PubMed

Romero-Gómez, S; Duarte-Vázquez, M A; García-Almendárez, B E; Mayorga-Martínez, L; Cervantes-Avilés, O; Regalado, C

2008-12-01

A putative peroxidase cDNA was isolated from turnip roots (Brassica napus L. var. purple top white globe) by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). Total RNA extracted from mature turnip roots was used as a template for RT-PCR, using a degenerated primer designed to amplify the highly conserved distal motif of plant peroxidases. The resulting partial sequence was used to design the rest of the specific primers for 5' and 3' RACE. Two cDNA fragments were purified, sequenced, and aligned with the partial sequence from RT-PCR, and a complete overlapping sequence was obtained and labeled as BbPA (Genbank Accession No. AY423440, named as podC). The full length cDNA is 1167bp long and contains a 1077bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a 358 deduced amino acid peroxidase polypeptide. The putative peroxidase (BnPA) showed a calculated Mr of 34kDa, and isoelectric point (pI) of 4.5, with no significant identity with other reported turnip peroxidases. Sequence alignment showed that only three peroxidases have a significant identity with BnPA namely AtP29a (84%), and AtPA2 (81%) from Arabidopsis thaliana, and HRPA2 (82%) from horseradish (Armoracia rusticana). Work is in progress to clone this gene into an adequate host to study the specific role and possible biotechnological applications of this alternative peroxidase source.

Identification of the full-length β-actin sequence and expression profiles in the tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri).

PubMed

Zheng, Yu; Yun, Chenxia; Wang, Qihui; Smith, Wanli W; Leng, Jing

2015-02-01

The tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri) diverges from the primate order (Primates) and is classified as a separate taxonomic group of mammals - Scandentia. It has been suggested that the tree shrew can be used as an animal model for studying human diseases; however, the genomic sequence of the tree shrew is largely unidentified. In the present study, we reported the full-length cDNA sequence of the housekeeping gene, β-actin, in the tree shrew. The amino acid sequence of β-actin in the tree shrew was compared to that of humans and other species; a simple phylogenetic relationship was discovered. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and western blot analysis further demonstrated that the expression profiles of β-actin, as a general conservative housekeeping gene, in the tree shrew were similar to those in humans, although the expression levels varied among different types of tissue in the tree shrew. Our data provide evidence that the tree shrew has a close phylogenetic association with humans. These findings further enhance the potential that the tree shrew, as a species, may be used as an animal model for studying human disorders.

Zebrafish Locomotor Responses Predict Irritant Potential of ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Over the past few decades, the drying and warming trends of global climate change have increased wildland fire (WF) season length, as well as geographic area impacted. Consequently, exposures to WF fine particulate matter (PM2.5; aerodynamic diameter <2.5 µm) are likely to increase in frequency and duration, contributing to a growing public health burden. Given the influence of fuel type and combustion conditions on WFPM2.5 composition, there is pressing need to identify the biomass fuel sources and emission constituents that drive toxicity. Previously, we reported the utility of 6-day post-fertilization (dpf) zebrafish larvae in evaluating diesel exhaust PM-induced irritation, demonstrating responses analogous to those in mammals. In the present study, combustions, separated by smoldering or flaming conditions, of pine needles, red oak, pine, eucalyptus, and peat were achieved using an automated tube furnace paired with a cryo-trapping apparatus to collect condensates of emissions. The condensates were extracted and prepared for use in zebrafish assays. We hypothesized that 1) the extractable organic fractions of biomass smoke PM will elicit dose-dependent irritant responses in 6-dpf zebrafish larvae, and 2) the relative potencies will vary across biomass emissions, potentially driven by varying chemical composition of fuel sources. Six-dpf zebrafish (n= 28-32/group) were exposed acutely to PM extracts (5 concentrations; 0.3-30 µg/ml; half-log intervals) and

Salt Sensitive Tet-Off-Like Systems to Knockdown Primordial Germ Cell Genes for Repressible Transgenic Sterilization in Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus.

PubMed

Li, Hanbo; Su, Baofeng; Qin, Guyu; Ye, Zhi; Alsaqufi, Ahmed; Perera, Dayan A; Shang, Mei; Odin, Ramjie; Vo, Khoi; Drescher, David; Robinson, Dalton; Zhang, Dan; Abass, Nermeen; Dunham, Rex A

2017-05-31

Repressible knockdown approaches were investigated for transgenic sterilization in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus . Two primordial germ cell (PGC) marker genes, nanos and dead end , were targeted for knockdown, and an off-target gene, vasa , was monitored. Two potentially salt sensitive repressible promoters, zebrafish adenylosuccinate synthase 2 (ADSS) and zebrafish racemase (Rm), were each coupled with four knockdown strategies: ds-sh RNA targeting the 5' end (N1) or 3' end (N2) of channel catfish nanos , full-length cDNA sequence of channel catfish nanos for overexpression (cDNA) and ds-sh RNA targeting channel catfish dead end (DND). Each construct had an untreated group and treated group with sodium chloride as the repressor compound. Spawning rates of full-sibling P₁ fish exposed or not exposed to the constructs as treated and untreated embryos were 93% and 59%, respectively, indicating potential sterilization of fish and repression of the constructs. Although the mRNA expression data of PGC marker genes were inconsistent in P₁ fish, most F₁ individuals were able to downregulate the target genes in untreated groups and repress the knockdown process in treated groups. The results indicate that repressible transgenic sterilization is feasible for reproductive control of fish, but more data from F₂ or F₃ are needed for evaluation.

Bisphenol A (BPA) binding on full-length architectures of estrogen receptor.

PubMed

Liu, Yaquan; Qu, Kaili; Hai, Ying; Zhao, Chunyan

2018-08-01

Previous research has shown that the major toxicity mechanism for many environment chemicals is binding with estrogen receptor (ER) and blocking endogenous estrogen access, including bisphenol A (BPA). However, the molecular level understanding the global consequence of BPA binding on the full-length architectures of ER is largely unknown, which is a necessary stage to evaluate estrogen-like toxicity of BPA. In the present work, the consequence of BPA on full-length architectures of ER was firstly modeled based on molecular dynamics, focusing on the cross communication between multi-domains including ligand binding domain (LBD) and DNA binding domain (DBD). The study proved consequence of BPA upon full-length ER structure was dependent on long-range communications between multiple protein domains. The allosteric effects occurring in LBD units could alter dimerization formation through a crucial change in residue-residue connections, which resulted in relaxation of DBD. It indicated BPA could present consequence on the full-size receptor, not only on the separate domains, but also on the cross communication among LBD, DBD, and DNA molecules. It might provide detailed insight into the knowledge about the structural characteristics of ER and its role in gene regulation, which eventually helped us evaluate the estrogen-like toxicity upon BPA binding with full-length ER. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

BioRAT: extracting biological information from full-length papers.

PubMed

Corney, David P A; Buxton, Bernard F; Langdon, William B; Jones, David T

2004-11-22

Converting the vast quantity of free-format text found in journals into a concise, structured format makes the researcher's quest for information easier. Recently, several information extraction systems have been developed that attempt to simplify the retrieval and analysis of biological and medical data. Most of this work has used the abstract alone, owing to the convenience of access and the quality of data. Abstracts are generally available through central collections with easy direct access (e.g. PubMed). The full-text papers contain more information, but are distributed across many locations (e.g. publishers' web sites, journal web sites and local repositories), making access more difficult. In this paper, we present BioRAT, a new information extraction (IE) tool, specifically designed to perform biomedical IE, and which is able to locate and analyse both abstracts and full-length papers. BioRAT is a Biological Research Assistant for Text mining, and incorporates a document search ability with domain-specific IE. We show first, that BioRAT performs as well as existing systems, when applied to abstracts; and second, that significantly more information is available to BioRAT through the full-length papers than via the abstracts alone. Typically, less than half of the available information is extracted from the abstract, with the majority coming from the body of each paper. Overall, BioRAT recalled 20.31% of the target facts from the abstracts with 55.07% precision, and achieved 43.6% recall with 51.25% precision on full-length papers.

Cloning and molecular characterization of the salt-regulated jojoba ScRab cDNA encoding a small GTP-binding protein.

PubMed

Mizrahi-Aviv, Ela; Mills, David; Benzioni, Aliza; Bar-Zvi, Dudy

2002-10-01

Salt stress results in a massive change in gene expression. An 837 bp cDNA designated ScRab was cloned from shoot cultures of the salt tolerant jojoba (Simmondsia chinesis). The cloned cDNA encodes a full length 200 amino acid long polypeptide that bears high homology to the Rab subfamily of small GTP binding proteins, particularly, the Rab5 subfamily. ScRab expression is reduced in shoots grown in the presence of salt compared to shoots from non-stressed cultures. His6-tagged ScRAB protein was expressed in E. coli, and purified to homogeneity. The purified protein bound radiolabelled GTP. The unlabelled guanine nucleotides GTP, GTP gamma S and GDP but not ATP, CTP or UTP competed with GTP binding.

GROWTH AND BEHAVIOR OF LARVAL ZEBRAFISH Danio ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Because Zebrafish (Danio rerio) have become a popular and important model for scientific research, the capability to rear larval zebrafish to adulthood is of great importance. Recently research examining the effects of diet (live versus processed) have been published. In the current study we examined whether the larvae can be reared on a processed diet alone, live food alone, or the combination while maintaining normal locomotor behavior, and acceptable survival, length and weight at 14 dpf in a static system. A 14 day feeding trial was conducted in glass crystallizing dishes containing 500 ml of 4 ppt Instant Ocean. On day 0 pdf 450 embryos were selected as potential study subjects and placed in a 26○C incubator on a 14:10 (light:dark) light cycle. At 4 dpf 120 normally developing embryos were selected per treatment and divided into 3 bowls of 40 embryos (for an n=3 per treatment; 9 bowls total). Treatment groups were: G (Gemma Micro 75 only), R (L-type marine rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) only) or B (Gemma and rotifers). Growth (length), survival, water quality and rotifer density were monitored on days 5-14. On day 14, weight of larva in each bowl was measured and 8 larva per bowl were selected for use in locomotor testing. This behavior paradigm tests individual larval zebrafish under both light and dark conditions in a 24-well plate.After 14 dpf, survival among the groups was not different (92-98%). By days 7 -14 R and B larvae were ~2X longer

Mitotic stability and nuclear inheritance of integrated viral cDNA in engineered hypovirulent strains of the chestnut blight fungus.

PubMed Central

Chen, B; Choi, G H; Nuss, D L

1993-01-01

Transmissible hypovirulence is a novel form of biological control in which virulence of a fungal pathogen is attenuated by an endogenous RNA virus. The feasibility of engineering hypovirulence was recently demonstrated by transformation of the chestnut blight fungus, Cryphonectria parasitica, with a full-length cDNA copy of a hypovirulence-associated viral RNA. Engineered hypovirulent transformants were found to contain both a chromsomally integrated cDNA copy of the viral genome and a resurrected cytoplasmically replicating double-stranded RNA form. We now report stable maintenance of integrated viral cDNA through repeated rounds of asexual sporulation and passages on host plant tissue. We also demonstrate stable nuclear inheritance of the integrated viral cDNA and resurrection of the cytoplasmic viral double-stranded RNA form in progeny resulting from the mating of an engineered hypovirulent C. parasitica strain and a vegetatively incompatible virulent strain. Mitotic stability of the viral cDNA ensures highly efficient transmission of the hypovirulence phenotype through conidia. Meiotic transmission, a mode not observed for natural hypovirulent strains, introduces virus into ascospore progeny representing a spectrum of vegetative compatibility groups, thereby circumventing barriers to anastomosis-mediated transmission imposed by the fungal vegetative incompatibility system. These transmission properties significantly enhance the potential of engineered hypovirulent C. parasitica strains as effective biocontrol agents. Images PMID:8344241

Purification, characterization, and cDNA cloning of a novel acidic endoglycoceramidase from the jellyfish, Cyanea nozakii.

PubMed

Horibata, Y; Okino, N; Ichinose, S; Omori, A; Ito, M

2000-10-06

Endoglycoceramidase (EC ) is an enzyme capable of cleaving the glycosidic linkage between oligosaccharides and ceramides in various glycosphingolipids. We report here the purification, characterization, and cDNA cloning of a novel endoglycoceramidase from the jellyfish, Cyanea nozakii. The purified enzyme showed a single protein band estimated to be 51 kDa on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme showed a pH optimum of 3.0 and was activated by Triton X-100 and Lubrol PX but not by sodium taurodeoxycholate. This enzyme preferentially hydrolyzed gangliosides, especially GT1b and GQ1b, whereas neutral glycosphingolipids were somewhat resistant to hydrolysis by the enzyme. A full-length cDNA encoding the enzyme was cloned by 5'- and 3'-rapid amplification of cDNA ends using a partial amino acid sequence of the purified enzyme. The open reading frame of 1509 nucleotides encoded a polypeptide of 503 amino acids including a signal sequence of 25 residues and six potential N-glycosylation sites. Interestingly, the Asn-Glu-Pro sequence, which is the putative active site of Rhodococcus endoglycoceramidase, was conserved in the deduced amino acid sequences. This is the first report of the cloning of an endoglycoceramidase from a eukaryote.

Isolation and expression of three gibberellin 20-oxidase cDNA clones from Arabidopsis.

PubMed

Phillips, A L; Ward, D A; Uknes, S; Appleford, N E; Lange, T; Huttly, A K; Gaskin, P; Graebe, J E; Hedden, P

1995-07-01

Using degenerate oligonucleotide primers based on a pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) gibberellin (GA) 20-oxidase sequence, six different fragments of dioxygenase genes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction from arabidopsis thaliana genomic DNA. One of these was used to isolate two different full-length cDNA clones, At2301 and At2353, from shoots of the GA-deficient Arabidopsis mutant ga1-2. A third, related clone, YAP169, was identified in the Database of Expressed Sequence Tags. The cDNA clones were expressed in Escherichia coli as fusion proteins, each of which oxidized GA12 at C-20 to GA15, GA24, and the C19 compound GA9, a precursor of bioactive GAs; the C20 tricarboxylic acid compound GA25 was formed as a minor product. The expression products also oxidized the 13-hydroxylated substrate GA53, but less effectively than GA12. The three cDNAs hybridized to mRNA species with tissue-specific patterns of accumulation, with At2301 being expressed in stems and inflorescences, At2353 in inflorescences and developing siliques, and YAP169 in siliques only. In the floral shoots of the ga1-2 mutant, transcript levels corresponding to each cDNA decreased dramatically after GA3 application, suggesting that GA biosynthesis may be controlled, at least in part, through down-regulation of the expression of the 20-oxidase genes.

Paramyosin from the parasitic mite Sarcoptes scabiei: cDNA cloning and heterologous expression.

PubMed

Mattsson, J G; Ljunggren, E L; Bergström, K

2001-05-01

The burrowing mite Sarcoptes scabiei is the causative agent of the highly contagious disease sarcoptic mange or scabies. So far, there is no in vitro propagation system for S. scabiei available, and mites used for various purposes must be isolated from infected hosts. Lack of parasite-derived material has limited the possibilities to study several aspects of scabies, including pathogenesis and immunity. It has also hampered the development of high performance serological assays. We have now constructed an S. scabiei cDNA expression library with mRNA purified from mites isolated from red foxes. Immunoscreening of the library enabled us to clone a full-length cDNA coding for a 102.5 kDa protein. Sequence similarity searches identified the protein as a paramyosin. Recombinant S. scabiei paramyosin expressed in Escherichia coli was recognized by sera from dogs and swine infected with S. scabiei. We also designed a small paramyosin construct of about 17 kDa that included the N-terminal part, an evolutionary variable part of the helical core, and the C-terminal part of the molecule. The miniaturized protein was efficiently expressed in E. coli and was recognized by sera from immunized rabbits. These data demonstrate that the cDNA library can assist in the isolation of important S. scabiei antigens and that recombinant proteins can be useful for the study of scabies.

UPLC/MS MS data of testosterone metabolites in human and zebrafish liver microsomes and whole zebrafish larval microsomes.

PubMed

Saad, Moayad; Bijttebier, Sebastiaan; Matheeussen, An; Verbueken, Evy; Pype, Casper; Casteleyn, Christophe; Van Ginneken, Chris; Maes, Louis; Cos, Paul; Van Cruchten, Steven

2018-02-01

This article represents data regarding a study published in Toxicology in vitro entitled " in vitro CYP-mediated drug metabolism in the zebrafish (embryo) using human reference compounds" (Saad et al., 2017) [1]. Data were acquired with ultra-performance liquid chromatography - accurate mass mass spectrometry (UPLC-amMS). A full spectrum scan was conducted for the testosterone (TST) metabolites from the microsomal stability assay in zebrafish and humans. The microsomal proteins were extracted from adult zebrafish male (MLM) and female (FLM) livers, whole body homogenates of 96 h post fertilization larvae (EM) and a pool of human liver microsomes from 50 donors (HLM). Data are expressed as the abundance from the extracted ion chromatogram of the metabolites.

Graph theoretical model of a sensorimotor connectome in zebrafish.

PubMed

Stobb, Michael; Peterson, Joshua M; Mazzag, Borbala; Gahtan, Ethan

2012-01-01

Mapping the detailed connectivity patterns (connectomes) of neural circuits is a central goal of neuroscience. The best quantitative approach to analyzing connectome data is still unclear but graph theory has been used with success. We present a graph theoretical model of the posterior lateral line sensorimotor pathway in zebrafish. The model includes 2,616 neurons and 167,114 synaptic connections. Model neurons represent known cell types in zebrafish larvae, and connections were set stochastically following rules based on biological literature. Thus, our model is a uniquely detailed computational representation of a vertebrate connectome. The connectome has low overall connection density, with 2.45% of all possible connections, a value within the physiological range. We used graph theoretical tools to compare the zebrafish connectome graph to small-world, random and structured random graphs of the same size. For each type of graph, 100 randomly generated instantiations were considered. Degree distribution (the number of connections per neuron) varied more in the zebrafish graph than in same size graphs with less biological detail. There was high local clustering and a short average path length between nodes, implying a small-world structure similar to other neural connectomes and complex networks. The graph was found not to be scale-free, in agreement with some other neural connectomes. An experimental lesion was performed that targeted three model brain neurons, including the Mauthner neuron, known to control fast escape turns. The lesion decreased the number of short paths between sensory and motor neurons analogous to the behavioral effects of the same lesion in zebrafish. This model is expandable and can be used to organize and interpret a growing database of information on the zebrafish connectome.

Drug resistance is conferred on the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae by expression of full-length melanoma-associated human ATP-binding cassette transporter ABCB5.

PubMed

Keniya, Mikhail V; Holmes, Ann R; Niimi, Masakazu; Lamping, Erwin; Gillet, Jean-Pierre; Gottesman, Michael M; Cannon, Richard D

2014-10-06

ABCB5, an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter, is highly expressed in melanoma cells, and may contribute to the extreme resistance of melanomas to chemotherapy by efflux of anti-cancer drugs. Our goal was to determine whether we could functionally express human ABCB5 in the model yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, in order to demonstrate an efflux function for ABCB5 in the absence of background pump activity from other human transporters. Heterologous expression would also facilitate drug discovery for this important target. DNAs encoding ABCB5 sequences were cloned into the chromosomal PDR5 locus of a S. cerevisiae strain in which seven endogenous ABC transporters have been deleted. Protein expression in the yeast cells was monitored by immunodetection using both a specific anti-ABCB5 antibody and a cross-reactive anti-ABCB1 antibody. ABCB5 function in recombinant yeast cells was measured by determining whether the cells possessed increased resistance to known pump substrates, compared to the host yeast strain, in assays of yeast growth. Three ABCB5 constructs were made in yeast. One was derived from the ABCB5-β mRNA, which is highly expressed in human tissues but is a truncation of a canonical full-size ABC transporter. Two constructs contained full-length ABCB5 sequences: either a native sequence from cDNA or a synthetic sequence codon-harmonized for S. cerevisiae. Expression of all three constructs in yeast was confirmed by immunodetection. Expression of the codon-harmonized full-length ABCB5 DNA conferred increased resistance, relative to the host yeast strain, to the putative substrates rhodamine 123, daunorubicin, tetramethylrhodamine, FK506, or clorgyline. We conclude that full-length ABCB5 can be functionally expressed in S. cerevisiae and confers drug resistance.

WebPrInSeS: automated full-length clone sequence identification and verification using high-throughput sequencing data.

PubMed

Massouras, Andreas; Decouttere, Frederik; Hens, Korneel; Deplancke, Bart

2010-07-01

High-throughput sequencing (HTS) is revolutionizing our ability to obtain cheap, fast and reliable sequence information. Many experimental approaches are expected to benefit from the incorporation of such sequencing features in their pipeline. Consequently, software tools that facilitate such an incorporation should be of great interest. In this context, we developed WebPrInSeS, a web server tool allowing automated full-length clone sequence identification and verification using HTS data. WebPrInSeS encompasses two separate software applications. The first is WebPrInSeS-C which performs automated sequence verification of user-defined open-reading frame (ORF) clone libraries. The second is WebPrInSeS-E, which identifies positive hits in cDNA or ORF-based library screening experiments such as yeast one- or two-hybrid assays. Both tools perform de novo assembly using HTS data from any of the three major sequencing platforms. Thus, WebPrInSeS provides a highly integrated, cost-effective and efficient way to sequence-verify or identify clones of interest. WebPrInSeS is available at http://webprinses.epfl.ch/ and is open to all users.

WebPrInSeS: automated full-length clone sequence identification and verification using high-throughput sequencing data

PubMed Central

Massouras, Andreas; Decouttere, Frederik; Hens, Korneel; Deplancke, Bart

2010-01-01

High-throughput sequencing (HTS) is revolutionizing our ability to obtain cheap, fast and reliable sequence information. Many experimental approaches are expected to benefit from the incorporation of such sequencing features in their pipeline. Consequently, software tools that facilitate such an incorporation should be of great interest. In this context, we developed WebPrInSeS, a web server tool allowing automated full-length clone sequence identification and verification using HTS data. WebPrInSeS encompasses two separate software applications. The first is WebPrInSeS-C which performs automated sequence verification of user-defined open-reading frame (ORF) clone libraries. The second is WebPrInSeS-E, which identifies positive hits in cDNA or ORF-based library screening experiments such as yeast one- or two-hybrid assays. Both tools perform de novo assembly using HTS data from any of the three major sequencing platforms. Thus, WebPrInSeS provides a highly integrated, cost-effective and efficient way to sequence-verify or identify clones of interest. WebPrInSeS is available at http://webprinses.epfl.ch/ and is open to all users. PMID:20501601

Tensile properties of craniofacial tendons in the mature and aged zebrafish

PubMed Central

Shah, Rishita R.; Nerurkar, Nandan L.; Wang, Calvin; Galloway, Jenna L.

2015-01-01

The zebrafish Danio rerio is a powerful model for the study of development, regenerative biology, and human disease. However, the analysis of load-bearing tissues such as tendons and ligaments has been limited in this system. This is largely due to technical limitations that preclude accurate measurement of their mechanical properties. Here, we present a custom tensile testing system that applies nano-Newton scale forces to zebrafish tendons as small as 1 mm in length. Tendon properties were remarkably similar to mammalian tendons, including stress-strain nonlinearity and a linear modulus (515±152 MPa) that aligned closely with mammalian data. Additionally, a simple exponential constitutive law used to describe tendon mechanics was successfully fit to zebrafish tendons; the associated material constants agreed with literature values for mammalian tendons. Finally, mature and aged zebrafish comparisons revealed a significant decline in mechanical function with age. Based on the exponential constitutive model, age related changes were primarily caused by a reduction in nonlinearity (e.g. changes in collagen crimp or fiber recruitment). These findings demonstrate the utility of zebrafish as a model to study tendon biomechanics in health and disease. Moreover, these findings suggest that tendon mechanical behavior is highly conserved across vertebrates. PMID:25665155

Characterization and mapping of cDNA encoding aspartate aminotransferase in rice, Oryza sativa L.

PubMed

Song, J; Yamamoto, K; Shomura, A; Yano, M; Minobe, Y; Sasaki, T

1996-10-31

Fifteen cDNA clones, putatively identified as encoding aspartate aminotransferase (AST, EC 2.6.1.1.), were isolated and partially sequenced. Together with six previously isolated clones putatively identified to encode ASTs (Sasaki, et al. 1994, Plant Journal 6, 615-624), their sequences were characterized and classified into 4 cDNA species. Two of the isolated clones, C60213 and C2079, were full-length cDNAs, and their complete nucleotide sequences were determined. C60213 was 1612 bp long and its deduced amino acid sequence showed 88% homology with that of Panicum miliaceum L. mitochondrial AST. The C60213-encoded protein had an N-terminal amino acid sequence that was characteristic of a mitochondrial transit peptide. On the other hand, C2079 was 1546 bp long and had 91% amino acid sequence homology with P. miliaceum L. cytosolic AST but lacked in the transit peptide sequence. The homologies of nucleotide sequences and deduced amino acid sequences of C2079 and C60213 were 54% and 52%, respectively. C2079 and C60213 were mapped on chromosomes 1 and 6, respectively, by restriction fragment length polymorphism linkage analysis. Northern blot analysis using C2079 as a probe revealed much higher transcript levels in callus and root than in green and etiolated shoots, suggesting tissue-specific variations of AST gene expression.

Correlation of the level of full-length CFTR transcript with pulmonary phenotype in patients carrying R117H and 1342-1,-2delAG mutations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hamosh, A.; Cutting, G.R.; Oates, R.

The R117H mutation occurs on two chromosome backgrounds, one associated with a 7 thymidine tract (7T-R11H) in the splice-acceptor site of intron 8, the other with a 5 thymidine tract (5T-R117H). We examined exon 9 splicing efficiency in 5 patients of genotype R117H/{delta}F508 and one carrying 1342-1,-2delAG{delta}F508, an obligate exon 9 slice site mutation. Four patients carried R117H on a 7T background -- three adult men with congenital bilateral absence of the vas deferens and one adolescent female with pancreatitis and borderline sweat chloride concentration. The patient with R117H on a 5T background had pancreatic sufficient CF (PS-CF). The 1342-1,-2delAGmore » patient has classic pancreatic insufficient CF (PI-CF). cDNA was synthesized from total RNA extracted from nasal epithlial cells and analyzed for CFTR splicing by 35 cycle PCR using primers in exon 7 and 11. The quantity of full length transcript derived from the R117H or {delta}F508 alleles was assessed by allele-specific oligonucleotide hybridization. While 91.4% of transcript from the 5T-R117H allele was full-length, only 42.2% of CFTR transcript from the 5T-R117H allele was full length. Since CBAVD patients have no lung disease and PS-CF patients do, this indicates that the threshold of developing CF lung disease is crossed when the amount of CFTR transcript bearing R117H is reduced by half. Interestingly, 17.1% of transcript derived from the 1342-1,-2delAG allele (or 8.6% of total CFTR transcript) was normal and full length. This suggests that up to 9% of full length wild-type CFTR transcript may be inadequate to escape the lung disease of CF and that a 9 thymidine tract followed by AAC (the result of the AG deletion) can be used as a splice donor with 2-9% efficiency.« less

Knockdown of zebrafish Fancd2 causes developmental abnormalities via p53-dependent apoptosis.

PubMed

Liu, Ting Xi; Howlett, Niall G; Deng, Min; Langenau, David M; Hsu, Karl; Rhodes, Jennifer; Kanki, John P; D'Andrea, Alan D; Look, A Thomas

2003-12-01

Mechanisms underlying the multiple developmental defects observed in Fanconi anemia (FA) patients are not well defined. We have identified the zebrafish homolog of human FANCD2, which encodes a nuclear effector protein that is monoubiquitinated in response to DNA damage, targeting it to nuclear foci where it preserves chromosomal integrity. Fancd2-deficient zebrafish embryos develop defects similar to those found in children with FA, including shortened body length, microcephaly, and microophthalmia, which are due to extensive cellular apoptosis. Developmental defects and increased apoptosis in Fancd2-deficient zebrafish were corrected by injection of human FANCD2 or zebrafish bcl2 mRNA, or by knockdown of p53, indicating that in the absence of Fancd2, developing tissues spontaneously undergo p53-dependent apoptosis. Thus, Fancd2 is essential during embryogenesis to prevent inappropriate apoptosis in neural cells and other tissues undergoing high levels of proliferative expansion, implicating this mechanism in the congenital abnormalities observed in human infants with FA.

High-Resolution Sequence-Function Mapping of Full-Length Proteins

PubMed Central

Kowalsky, Caitlin A.; Klesmith, Justin R.; Stapleton, James A.; Kelly, Vince; Reichkitzer, Nolan; Whitehead, Timothy A.

2015-01-01

Comprehensive sequence-function mapping involves detailing the fitness contribution of every possible single mutation to a gene by comparing the abundance of each library variant before and after selection for the phenotype of interest. Deep sequencing of library DNA allows frequency reconstruction for tens of thousands of variants in a single experiment, yet short read lengths of current sequencers makes it challenging to probe genes encoding full-length proteins. Here we extend the scope of sequence-function maps to entire protein sequences with a modular, universal sequence tiling method. We demonstrate the approach with both growth-based selections and FACS screening, offer parameters and best practices that simplify design of experiments, and present analytical solutions to normalize data across independent selections. Using this protocol, sequence-function maps covering full sequences can be obtained in four to six weeks. Best practices introduced in this manuscript are fully compatible with, and complementary to, other recently published sequence-function mapping protocols. PMID:25790064

The Fanconi anemia/BRCA gene network in zebrafish: embryonic expression and comparative genomics.

PubMed

Titus, Tom A; Yan, Yi-Lin; Wilson, Catherine; Starks, Amber M; Frohnmayer, Jonathan D; Bremiller, Ruth A; Cañestro, Cristian; Rodriguez-Mari, Adriana; He, Xinjun; Postlethwait, John H

2009-07-31

Fanconi anemia (FA) is a genetic disease resulting in bone marrow failure, high cancer risks, and infertility, and developmental anomalies including microphthalmia, microcephaly, hypoplastic radius and thumb. Here we present cDNA sequences, genetic mapping, and genomic analyses for the four previously undescribed zebrafish FA genes (fanci, fancj, fancm, and fancn), and show that they reverted to single copy after the teleost genome duplication. We tested the hypothesis that FA genes are expressed during embryonic development in tissues that are disrupted in human patients by investigating fanc gene expression patterns. We found fanc gene maternal message, which can provide Fanc proteins to repair DNA damage encountered in rapid cleavage divisions. Zygotic expression was broad but especially strong in eyes, central nervous system and hematopoietic tissues. In the pectoral fin bud at hatching, fanc genes were expressed specifically in the apical ectodermal ridge, a signaling center for fin/limb development that may be relevant to the radius/thumb anomaly of FA patients. Hatching embryos expressed fanc genes strongly in the oral epithelium, a site of squamous cell carcinomas in FA patients. Larval and adult zebrafish expressed fanc genes in proliferative regions of the brain, which may be related to microcephaly in FA. Mature ovaries and testes expressed fanc genes in specific stages of oocyte and spermatocyte development, which may be related to DNA repair during homologous recombination in meiosis and to infertility in human patients. The intestine strongly expressed some fanc genes specifically in proliferative zones. Our results show that zebrafish has a complete complement of fanc genes in single copy and that these genes are expressed in zebrafish embryos and adults in proliferative tissues that are often affected in FA patients. These results support the notion that zebrafish offers an attractive experimental system to help unravel mechanisms relevant not only

The Fanconi anemia/BRCA gene network in zebrafish: Embryonic expression and comparative genomics

PubMed Central

Titus, Tom A.; Yan, Yi-Lin; Wilson, Catherine; Starks, Amber M.; Frohnmayer, Jonathan D.; Canestro, Cristian; Rodriguez-Mari, Adriana; He, Xinjun; Postlethwait, John H.

2008-01-01

Fanconi anemia (FA) is a genic disease resulting in bone marrow failure, high cancer risks, and infertility, and developmental anomalies including microphthalmia, microcephaly, hypoplastic radius and thumb. Here we present cDNA sequences, genetic mapping, and genomic analyses for the four previously undescribed zebrafish FA genes (fanci, fancj, fancm, and fancn, and show that they reverted to single copy after the teleost genome duplication. We tested the hypothesis that FA genes are expressed during embryonic development in tissues that are disrupted in human patients by investigating fanc gene expression patterns. We found fanc gene maternal message, which can provide Fanc proteins to repair DNA damage encountered in rapid cleavage divisions. Zygotic expression was broad but especially strong in eyes, central nervous system and hematopoietic tissues. In the pectoral fin bud at hatching, fanc genes were expressed specifically in the apical ectodermal ridge, a signaling center for fin/limb development that may be relevant to the radius/thumb anomaly of FA patients. Hatching embryos expressed fanc genes strongly in the oral epithelium, a site of squamous cell carcinomas in FA patients. Larval and adult zebrafish expressed fanc genes in proliferative regions of the brain, which may be related to microcephaly in FA. Mature ovaries and testes expressed fanc genes in specific stages of oocyte and spermatocyte development, which may be related to DNA repair during homologous recombination in meiosis and to infertility in human patients. The intestine strongly expressed some fanc genes specifically in proliferative zones. Our results show that zebrafish has a complete complement of fanc genes in single copy and that these genes are expressed in zebrafish embryos and adults in proliferative tissues that are often affected in FA patients. These results support the notion that zebrafish offers an attractive experimental system to help unravel mechanisms relevant not only to

Automatic zebrafish heartbeat detection and analysis for zebrafish embryos.

PubMed

Pylatiuk, Christian; Sanchez, Daniela; Mikut, Ralf; Alshut, Rüdiger; Reischl, Markus; Hirth, Sofia; Rottbauer, Wolfgang; Just, Steffen

2014-08-01

A fully automatic detection and analysis method of heartbeats in videos of nonfixed and nonanesthetized zebrafish embryos is presented. This method reduces the manual workload and time needed for preparation and imaging of the zebrafish embryos, as well as for evaluating heartbeat parameters such as frequency, beat-to-beat intervals, and arrhythmicity. The method is validated by a comparison of the results from automatic and manual detection of the heart rates of wild-type zebrafish embryos 36-120 h postfertilization and of embryonic hearts with bradycardia and pauses in the cardiac contraction.

Identification of full-length dentin matrix protein 1 in dentin and bone.

PubMed

Huang, Bingzhen; Maciejewska, Izabela; Sun, Yao; Peng, Tao; Qin, Disheng; Lu, Yongbo; Bonewald, Lynda; Butler, William T; Feng, Jian; Qin, Chunlin

2008-05-01

Dentin matrix protein 1 (DMP1) has been identified in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of dentin and bone as the processed NH(2)-terminal and COOH-terminal fragment. However, the full-length form of DMP1 has not been identified in these tissues. The focus of this investigation was to search for the intact full-length DMP1 in dentin and bone. We used two types of anti-DMP1 antibodies to identify DMP1: one type specifically recognizes the NH(2)-terminal region and the other type is only reactive to the COOH-terminal region of the DMP1 amino acid sequence. An approximately 105-kDa protein, extracted from the ECM of rat dentin and bone, was recognized by both types of antibodies; and the migration rate of this protein was identical to the recombinant mouse full-length DMP1 made in eukaryotic cells. We concluded that this approximately 105-kDa protein is the full-length form of DMP1, which is considerably less abundant than its processed fragments in the ECM of dentin and bone. We also detected the full-length form of DMP1 and its processed fragments in the extract of dental pulp/odontoblast complex dissected from rat teeth. In addition, immunofluorescence analysis showed that in MC3T3-E1 cells the NH(2)-terminal and COOH-terminal fragments of DMP1 are distributed differently. Our findings indicate that the majority of DMP1 must be cleaved within the cells that synthesize it and that minor amounts of uncleaved DMP1 molecules are secreted into the ECM of dentin and bone.

Isolation and characterization of a cDNA encoding a lipid transfer protein expressed in 'Valencia' orange during abscission.

PubMed

Wu, Zhencai; Burns, Jacqueline K

2003-04-01

The genetics and expression of a lipid transfer protein (LTP) gene was examined during abscission of mature fruit of 'Valencia' orange. A cDNA encoding an LTP, CsLTP, was isolated from a cDNA subtraction library constructed from mature fruit abscission zones 48 h after application of a mature fruit-specific abscission agent, 5-chloro-3-methyl-4-nitro-pyrazole (CMN-pyrazole). A full-length cDNA clone of 652 nucleotides was isolated using 5' and 3' RACE followed by cDNA library screening and PCR amplification. The cDNA clone encoded a protein of 155 amino acid residues with a molecular mass and isoelectric point of 9.18 kDa and 9.12, respectively. A partial genomic clone of 505 nucleotides containing one intron of 101 base pairs was amplified from leaf genomic DNA. Southern blot hybridization demonstrated that at least two closely related CsLTP genes are present in 'Valencia' orange. Temporal expression patterns in mature fruit abscission zones were examined by northern hybridization. Increased expression of CsLTP mRNA was detected in RNA of mature fruit abscission zones 6, 24, 48, and 72 h after application of a non-specific abscission agent, ethephon. Low expression of CsLTP transcripts was observed after treatment of CMN-pyrazole until 24 h after application. After this time, expression markedly increased. The results suggest that CsLTP has a role in the abscission process, possibly by assisting transport of cutin monomers to the fracture plane of the abscission zone or through its anti-microbial activity by reducing the potential of microbial attack.

Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of a yak (Bos grunniens) κ-casein cDNA from lactating mammary gland.

PubMed

Bai, W L; Yin, R H; Dou, Q L; Jiang, W Q; Zhao, S J; Ma, Z J; Luo, G B; Zhao, Z H

2011-04-01

κ-Casein is one of the major proteins in the milk of mammals. It plays an important role in determining the size and specific function of milk micelles. We have previously identified and characterized a genetic variant of yak κ-casein by evaluating genomic DNA. Here, we isolate and characterize a yak κ-casein cDNA harboring the full-length open reading frame (ORF) from lactating mammary gland. Total RNA was extracted from mammary tissue of lactating female yak, and the κ-casein cDNA were synthesized by RT-PCR technique, then cloned and sequenced. The obtained cDNA of 660-bp contained an ORF sufficient to encode the entire amino acid sequence of κ-casein precursor protein consisting of 190 amino acids with a signal peptide of 21 amino acids. Yak κ-casein has a predicted molecular mass of 19,006.588 Da with a calculated isoelectric point of 7.245. Compared with the corresponding sequences in GenBank of cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, Arabian camel, horse, and rabbit, yak κ-casein sequence had identity of 64.76-98.78% in cDNA, and identity of 44.79-98.42% and similarity of 53.65-98.42% in deduced amino acids, revealing a high homology with the other livestock species. Based on κ-casein cDNA sequences, the phylogenetic analysis indicated that yak κ-casein had a close relationship with that of cattle. This work might be useful in the genetic engineering researches for yak κ-casein.

The effect of column purification on cDNA indirect labelling for microarrays

PubMed Central

Molas, M Lia; Kiss, John Z

2007-01-01

Background The success of the microarray reproducibility is dependent upon the performance of standardized procedures. Since the introduction of microarray technology for the analysis of global gene expression, reproducibility of results among different laboratories has been a major problem. Two of the main contributors to this variability are the use of different microarray platforms and different laboratory practices. In this paper, we address the latter question in terms of how variation in one of the steps of a labelling procedure affects the cDNA product prior to microarray hybridization. Results We used a standard procedure to label cDNA for microarray hybridization and employed different types of column chromatography for cDNA purification. After purifying labelled cDNA, we used the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer and agarose gel electrophoresis to assess the quality of the labelled cDNA before its hybridization onto a microarray platform. There were major differences in the cDNA profile (i.e. cDNA fragment lengths and abundance) as a result of using four different columns for purification. In addition, different columns have different efficiencies to remove rRNA contamination. This study indicates that the appropriate column to use in this type of protocol has to be experimentally determined. Finally, we present new evidence establishing the importance of testing the method of purification used during an indirect labelling procedure. Our results confirm the importance of assessing the quality of the sample in the labelling procedure prior to hybridization onto a microarray platform. Conclusion Standardization of column purification systems to be used in labelling procedures will improve the reproducibility of microarray results among different laboratories. In addition, implementation of a quality control check point of the labelled samples prior to microarray hybridization will prevent hybridizing a poor quality sample to expensive micorarrays. PMID:17597522

The effect of column purification on cDNA indirect labelling for microarrays.

PubMed

Molas, M Lia; Kiss, John Z

2007-06-27

The success of the microarray reproducibility is dependent upon the performance of standardized procedures. Since the introduction of microarray technology for the analysis of global gene expression, reproducibility of results among different laboratories has been a major problem. Two of the main contributors to this variability are the use of different microarray platforms and different laboratory practices. In this paper, we address the latter question in terms of how variation in one of the steps of a labelling procedure affects the cDNA product prior to microarray hybridization. We used a standard procedure to label cDNA for microarray hybridization and employed different types of column chromatography for cDNA purification. After purifying labelled cDNA, we used the Agilent 2100 Bioanalyzer and agarose gel electrophoresis to assess the quality of the labelled cDNA before its hybridization onto a microarray platform. There were major differences in the cDNA profile (i.e. cDNA fragment lengths and abundance) as a result of using four different columns for purification. In addition, different columns have different efficiencies to remove rRNA contamination. This study indicates that the appropriate column to use in this type of protocol has to be experimentally determined. Finally, we present new evidence establishing the importance of testing the method of purification used during an indirect labelling procedure. Our results confirm the importance of assessing the quality of the sample in the labelling procedure prior to hybridization onto a microarray platform. Standardization of column purification systems to be used in labelling procedures will improve the reproducibility of microarray results among different laboratories. In addition, implementation of a quality control check point of the labelled samples prior to microarray hybridization will prevent hybridizing a poor quality sample to expensive micorarrays.

Cloning of the cDNA for U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein particle 70K protein from Arabidopsis thaliana

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reddy, A. S.; Czernik, A. J.; An, G.; Poovaiah, B. W.

1992-01-01

We cloned and sequenced a plant cDNA that encodes U1 small nuclear ribonucleoprotein (snRNP) 70K protein. The plant U1 snRNP 70K protein cDNA is not full length and lacks the coding region for 68 amino acids in the amino-terminal region as compared to human U1 snRNP 70K protein. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence of the plant U1 snRNP 70K protein with the amino acid sequence of animal and yeast U1 snRNP 70K protein showed a high degree of homology. The plant U1 snRNP 70K protein is more closely related to the human counter part than to the yeast 70K protein. The carboxy-terminal half is less well conserved but, like the vertebrate 70K proteins, is rich in charged amino acids. Northern analysis with the RNA isolated from different parts of the plant indicates that the snRNP 70K gene is expressed in all of the parts tested. Southern blotting of genomic DNA using the cDNA indicates that the U1 snRNP 70K protein is coded by a single gene.

Telomeres in aging and disease: lessons from zebrafish.

PubMed

Carneiro, Madalena C; de Castro, Inês Pimenta; Ferreira, Miguel Godinho

2016-07-01

Age is the highest risk factor for some of the most prevalent human diseases, including cancer. Telomere shortening is thought to play a central role in the aging process in humans. The link between telomeres and aging is highlighted by the fact that genetic diseases causing telomerase deficiency are associated with premature aging and increased risk of cancer. For the last two decades, this link has been mostly investigated using mice that have long telomeres. However, zebrafish has recently emerged as a powerful and complementary model system to study telomere biology. Zebrafish possess human-like short telomeres that progressively decline with age, reaching lengths in old age that are observed when telomerase is mutated. The extensive characterization of its well-conserved molecular and cellular physiology makes this vertebrate an excellent model to unravel the underlying relationship between telomere shortening, tissue regeneration, aging and disease. In this Review, we explore the advantages of using zebrafish in telomere research and discuss the primary discoveries made in this model that have contributed to expanding our knowledge of how telomere attrition contributes to cellular senescence, organ dysfunction and disease. © 2016. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Normalized cDNA libraries

DOEpatents

Soares, Marcelo B.; Efstratiadis, Argiris

1997-01-01

This invention provides a method to normalize a directional cDNA library constructed in a vector that allows propagation in single-stranded circle form comprising: (a) propagating the directional cDNA library in single-stranded circles; (b) generating fragments complementary to the 3' noncoding sequence of the single-stranded circles in the library to produce partial duplexes; (c) purifying the partial duplexes; (d) melting and reassociating the purified partial duplexes to moderate Cot; and (e) purifying the unassociated single-stranded circles, thereby generating a normalized cDNA library.

Normalized cDNA libraries

DOEpatents

Soares, M.B.; Efstratiadis, A.

1997-06-10

This invention provides a method to normalize a directional cDNA library constructed in a vector that allows propagation in single-stranded circle form comprising: (a) propagating the directional cDNA library in single-stranded circles; (b) generating fragments complementary to the 3{prime} noncoding sequence of the single-stranded circles in the library to produce partial duplexes; (c) purifying the partial duplexes; (d) melting and reassociating the purified partial duplexes to moderate Cot; and (e) purifying the unassociated single-stranded circles, thereby generating a normalized cDNA library. 4 figs.

Larval rearing of zebrafish at suboptimal temperatures.

PubMed

Delomas, Thomas A; Dabrowski, Konrad

2018-05-01

Temperature-sensitive mutants have been widely utilized in single-cell and invertebrate model systems, particularly to study the function of essential genes. Few temperature-sensitive mutants have been identified in zebrafish, likely due to the difficulty of raising zebrafish at low temperatures. We describe a novel rearing protocol that allows rapid growth of larval and juvenile zebrafish at 23 °C compared to previous data in the literature. Embryos collected from four breeding pairs were maintained at 28.5 ± 0.5 °C until 5 days post-fertilization (dpf) - the onset of exogenous feeding. Larvae were then divided to six tanks and three tanks were cooled to 23 ± 0.2 °C. Fish were fed a live diet (marine rotifers Brachionus plicatilis and Artemia nauplii) and maintained under a set of environmental parameters shown to increase growth rate: continuous light, low salinity (3ppt), and algal turbidity. Mean total length and weight of fish at 21dpf were 12.7 ± 0.3 mm and 20.5 ± 1.5 mg for the 23 °C treatment and 18.5 ± 0.4 mm and 67.3 ± 3.4 mg for the 28.5 °C control. By 35 dpf, the fish raised at 23 °C had reached a mean length and weight of 18.9 ± 0.7 mm and 76.4 ± 6.7 mg, approximately the size control fish reached at 21 dpf. At 35 dpf, water temperature was raised to 28 °C and fish were reared to maturity (75 dpf) under standard conditions (freshwater, 13 L:11D photoperiod, dry diet, no added algal turbidity). Sex ratio and fertility were assessed and compared between temperature groups. There were no significant differences in sex ratio, fertilization rate, embryo viability at 1 dpf, clutch size, or relative fecundity. This rearing protocol will allow for efficient utilization of temperature-sensitive mutations in the zebrafish model system. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Salt Sensitive Tet-Off-Like Systems to Knockdown Primordial Germ Cell Genes for Repressible Transgenic Sterilization in Channel Catfish, Ictalurus punctatus

PubMed Central

Li, Hanbo; Su, Baofeng; Qin, Guyu; Ye, Zhi; Alsaqufi, Ahmed; Perera, Dayan A.; Shang, Mei; Odin, Ramjie; Vo, Khoi; Drescher, David; Robinson, Dalton; Zhang, Dan; Abass, Nermeen; Dunham, Rex A.

2017-01-01

Repressible knockdown approaches were investigated for transgenic sterilization in channel catfish, Ictalurus punctatus. Two primordial germ cell (PGC) marker genes, nanos and dead end, were targeted for knockdown, and an off-target gene, vasa, was monitored. Two potentially salt sensitive repressible promoters, zebrafish adenylosuccinate synthase 2 (ADSS) and zebrafish racemase (Rm), were each coupled with four knockdown strategies: ds-sh RNA targeting the 5′ end (N1) or 3′ end (N2) of channel catfish nanos, full-length cDNA sequence of channel catfish nanos for overexpression (cDNA) and ds-sh RNA targeting channel catfish dead end (DND). Each construct had an untreated group and treated group with sodium chloride as the repressor compound. Spawning rates of full-sibling P1 fish exposed or not exposed to the constructs as treated and untreated embryos were 93% and 59%, respectively, indicating potential sterilization of fish and repression of the constructs. Although the mRNA expression data of PGC marker genes were inconsistent in P1 fish, most F1 individuals were able to downregulate the target genes in untreated groups and repress the knockdown process in treated groups. The results indicate that repressible transgenic sterilization is feasible for reproductive control of fish, but more data from F2 or F3 are needed for evaluation. PMID:28561774

Growth differentiation factor 9 and its spatiotemporal expression and regulation in the zebrafish ovary.

PubMed

Liu, Lin; Ge, Wei

2007-02-01

Growth differentiation factor 9 (GDF9) is a member of the transforming growth factor beta (TGFB) superfamily. As an oocyte-specific growth factor, GDF9 plays critical roles in controlling folliculogenesis in mammals. In the present study, we cloned a 2.1-kb cDNA of the zebrafish GDF9 homolog (Gdf9, gdf9), which shares approximately 60% homology with that of mammals in the mature region. RT-PCR analysis showed that zebrafish gdf9 expression was present only in the gonads and Northern blot analysis revealed a single transcript of about 2.0 kb in the ovary. Real-time RT-PCR analysis revealed that gdf9 expression was highest in primary growth (PG, stage I) follicles and gradually decreased during follicular development, with the lowest level being found in fully grown (FG) follicles. The expression of gdf9 was maintained through fertilization and early embryonic development until gastrulation, at which point the expression level dramatically decreased. Expression was barely detectable after the late gastrula stage. Within the follicle, gdf9 mRNA was localized exclusively in the oocytes, as demonstrated by RT-PCR of denuded oocytes and freshly isolated follicle layers as well as by in situ hybridization. Interestingly, when amplified for high numbers of cycles, the expression of gdf9 was detected in cultured zebrafish follicular cells that were free of oocytes. The expression of gdf9 was downregulated by hCG in both ovarian fragments and isolated follicles in dose- and time-dependent manners, and this inhibition appeared to be stage-dependent, with the strongest inhibition observed for the FG follicles and no effect seen for the PG follicles. This correlates well with the expression profile of the LH receptor (lhcgr) in zebrafish follicles. In conclusion, as an oocyte-derived growth factor, GDF9 is highly conserved across vertebrates. With its biological advantages, zebrafish provides an alternative model for studying gene function and regulation.

Isolation, nucleotide sequence and expression of a cDNA encoding feline granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.

PubMed

Dunham, S P; Onions, D E

2001-06-21

A cDNA encoding feline granulocyte colony stimulating factor (fG-CSF) was cloned from alveolar macrophages using the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The cDNA is 949 bp in length and encodes a predicted mature protein of 174 amino acids. Recombinant fG-CSF was expressed as a glutathione S-transferase fusion and purified by affinity chromatography. Biological activity of the recombinant protein was demonstrated using the murine myeloblastic cell line GNFS-60, which showed an ED50 for fG-CSF of approximately 2 ng/ml. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.

BRICHOS domain-containing leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin 1-like cDNA from disk abalone Haliotis discus discus.

PubMed

Kim, Yucheol; De Zoysa, Mahanama; Lee, Youngdeuk; Whang, Ilson; Lee, Jehee

2010-11-01

A BRICHOS domain-containing leukocyte cell-derived chemotaxin 1-like cDNA was cloned from the disk abalone (Haliotis discus discus) and designated as AbLECT-1. A full-length (705 bp) of AbLECT-1 cDNA was composed of a 576 bp open reading frame that translates into a putative peptide of 192 amino acids. Deduced amino acid sequence of AbLECT-1 had 15.5- and 27.8% identity and similarity to human LECT-1, respectively. Quantitative real-time PCR analysis results showed that the mRNA of AbLECT-1 was constitutively expressed in abalone hemocytes, gills, mantle, muscle, digestive tract and hepatopancreas in a tissue-specific manner. Moreover, the AbLECT-1 transcription level was induced in hemocytes after challenge with Vibrio alginolyticus, Vibrio parahemolyticus, and Listeria monocytogenes suggesting that it may be involved in immune response reactions in abalone. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

78 FR 13071 - Guidance for Industry: Implementation of an Acceptable Full-Length and Abbreviated Donor History...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-26

...] Guidance for Industry: Implementation of an Acceptable Full- Length and Abbreviated Donor History... Full-Length and Abbreviated Donor History Questionnaires and Accompanying Materials for Use in... full-length and abbreviated donor history questionnaires and accompanying materials, version 1.2 dated...

Construction and biological activities of the first infectious cDNA clones of the genus Foveavirus

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Meng, Baozhong, E-mail: bmeng@uoguelph.ca; Venkataraman, Srividhya; Li, Caihong

Grapevine rupestris stem pitting-associated virus (GRSPaV, genus Foveavirus, family Betaflexiviridae) is one of the most prevalent viruses in grapevines and is associated with three distinct diseases: rupestris stem pitting, vein necrosis and Syrah decline. Little is known about the biology and pathological properties of GRSPaV. In this work, we engineered a full-length infectious cDNA clone for GRSPaV and a GFP-tagged variant, both under the transcriptional control of Cauliflower mosaic virus 35 S promoter. We demonstrated that these cDNA clones were infectious in grapevines and Nicotiana benthamiana through fluorescence microscopy, RT-PCR, Western blotting and immuno electron microscopy. Interestingly, GRSPaV does notmore » cause systemic infection in four of the most commonly used herbaceous plants, even in the presence of the movement proteins of two other viruses which are known to complement numerous movement-defective viruses. These infectious clones are the first of members of Foveavirus which would allow further investigations into mechanisms governing different aspects of replication for GRSPaV and perhaps related viruses.« less

Cloning of a cDNA encoding rat aldehyde dehydrogenase with high activity for retinal oxidation.

PubMed

Bhat, P V; Labrecque, J; Boutin, J M; Lacroix, A; Yoshida, A

1995-12-12

Retinoic acid (RA), an important regulator of cell differentiation, is biosynthesized from retinol via retinal by a two-step oxidation process. We previously reported the purification and partial amino acid (aa) sequence of a rat kidney aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) isozyme that catalyzed the oxidation of 9-cis and all-trans retinal to corresponding RA with high efficiency [Labrecque et al. Biochem. J. 305 (1995) 681-684]. A rat kidney cDNA library was screened using a 291-bp PCR product generated from total kidney RNA using a pair of oligodeoxyribonucleotide primers matched with the aa sequence. The full-length rat kidney ALDH cDNA contains a 2315-bp (501 aa) open reading frame (ORF). The aa sequence of rat kidney ALDH is 89, 96 and 87% identical to that of the rat cytosolic ALDH, the mouse cytosolic ALDH and human cytosolic ALDH, respectively. Northern blot and RT-PCR-mediated analysis demonstrated that rat kidney ALDH is strongly expressed in kidney, lung, testis, intestine, stomach and trachea, but weakly in the liver.

Solution Hybrid Selection Capture for the Recovery of Functional Full-Length Eukaryotic cDNAs From Complex Environmental Samples

PubMed Central

Bragalini, Claudia; Ribière, Céline; Parisot, Nicolas; Vallon, Laurent; Prudent, Elsa; Peyretaillade, Eric; Girlanda, Mariangela; Peyret, Pierre; Marmeisse, Roland; Luis, Patricia

2014-01-01

Eukaryotic microbial communities play key functional roles in soil biology and potentially represent a rich source of natural products including biocatalysts. Culture-independent molecular methods are powerful tools to isolate functional genes from uncultured microorganisms. However, none of the methods used in environmental genomics allow for a rapid isolation of numerous functional genes from eukaryotic microbial communities. We developed an original adaptation of the solution hybrid selection (SHS) for an efficient recovery of functional complementary DNAs (cDNAs) synthesized from soil-extracted polyadenylated mRNAs. This protocol was tested on the Glycoside Hydrolase 11 gene family encoding endo-xylanases for which we designed 35 explorative 31-mers capture probes. SHS was implemented on four soil eukaryotic cDNA pools. After two successive rounds of capture, >90% of the resulting cDNAs were GH11 sequences, of which 70% (38 among 53 sequenced genes) were full length. Between 1.5 and 25% of the cloned captured sequences were expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Sequencing of polymerase chain reaction-amplified GH11 gene fragments from the captured sequences highlighted hundreds of phylogenetically diverse sequences that were not yet described, in public databases. This protocol offers the possibility of performing exhaustive exploration of eukaryotic gene families within microbial communities thriving in any type of environment. PMID:25281543

Electronic individual identification of zebrafish using radio frequency identification (RFID) microtags.

PubMed

Cousin, Xavier; Daouk, Tarek; Péan, Samuel; Lyphout, Laura; Schwartz, Marie-Elise; Bégout, Marie-Laure

2012-08-15

Although individual electronic tagging using passive integrated acoustic (PIT) tags is established, it is mainly for fish >60 mm in length and is unsuitable for fish of <30 mm, like zebrafish. We used radio frequency identification (RFID) microtags (1 mm in diameter and 6 mm in length, with a mass of ~10 mg) to individually identify juvenile zebrafish (length 16-42 mm, mass 138-776 mg) for the first time, and studied the effects of intracoelomic implantation on fish survival and microtag loss, growth, spawning and exploratory behaviour. After 5.5 months, both high survival (82%) and low microtag loss (11%) were achieved. The smallest surviving fish weighed 178 mg, and success in microtag reading was 73% for the size class 350-450 mg (26 mm). Greater success was achieved when fish were larger at the time of tagging but no negative effects on growth were observed for any size class and some tagged fish spawned. No significant differences in behavioural responses could be detected between tagged fish and untagged controls after 2 months. Overall, the results suggest that the tagging method is highly suitable for fish as small as zebrafish juveniles. We think this method will provide significant advances for researchers of the ever-growing fish model community and more generally for all small-fish users. Tagging is essential when one needs to identify fish (e.g. particular genotypes with no external cue), to run longitudinal monitoring of individual biological traits (e.g. growth) or to repeat assays with the same individual at discrete points in time (e.g. behaviour studies). Such a method will find applications in physiology, genetics, behaviour and (eco)toxicology fields.

Thyroid endocrine disruption and external body morphology of Zebrafish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sharma, Prakash; Grabowski, Timothy B.; Patino, Reynaldo

2016-01-01

This study examined the effects thyroid-active compounds during early development on body morphology of Zebrafish (Danio rerio). Three-day postfertilization (dpf) larvae were exposed to goitrogen [methimazole (MZ, 0.15 mM)], combination of MZ (0.15 mM) and thyroxine (T4, 2 nM), T4 (2 nM), or control (reconstituted water) treatments until 33 dpf and subsequently maintained in reconstituted water until 45 dpf. Samples were taken at 33 and 45 dpf for multivariate analysis of geometric distances between selected homologous landmarks placed on digital images of fish, and for histological assessment of thyrocytes. Body mass, standard length, and pectoral fin length were separately measured on remaining fish at 45 dpf. Histological analysis confirmed the hypothyroid effect (increased thyrocyte height) of MZ and rescue effect of T4 co-administration. Geometric distance analysis showed that pectoral and pelvic fins shifted backward along the rostrocaudal axis under hypothyroid conditions at 45 dpf and that T4 co-treatment prevented this shift. Pectoral fin length at 45 dpf was reduced by exposure to MZ and rescued by co-administration of T4, but it was not associated with standard length. Methimazole caused a reduction in body mass and length at 45 dpf that could not be rescued by T4 co-administration, and non-thyroidal effects of MZ on body shape were also recognized at 33 and 45 dpf. Alterations in the length and position of paired fins caused by exposure to thyroid-disrupting chemicals during early development, as shown here for Zebrafish, could affect physical aspects of locomotion and consequently other important organismal functions such as foraging, predator avoidance, and ultimately survival and recruitment into the adult population. Results of this study also suggest the need to include rescue treatments in endocrine disruption studies that rely on goitrogens as reference for thyroid-mediated effects.

Fabrication of high quality cDNA microarray using a small amount of cDNA.

PubMed

Park, Chan Hee; Jeong, Ha Jin; Jung, Jae Jun; Lee, Gui Yeon; Kim, Sang-Chul; Kim, Tae Soo; Yang, Sang Hwa; Chung, Hyun Cheol; Rha, Sun Young

2004-05-01

DNA microarray technology has become an essential part of biological research. It enables the genome-scale analysis of gene expression in various types of model systems. Manufacturing high quality cDNA microarrays of microdeposition type depends on some key factors including a printing device, spotting pins, glass slides, spotting solution, and humidity during spotting. UsingEthe Microgrid II TAS model printing device, this study defined the optimal conditions for producing high density, high quality cDNA microarrays with the least amount of cDNA product. It was observed that aminosilane-modified slides were superior to other types of surface modified-slides. A humidity of 30+/-3% in a closed environment and the overnight drying of the spotted slides gave the best conditions for arraying. In addition, the cDNA dissolved in 30% DMSO gave the optimal conditions for spotting compared to the 1X ArrayIt, 3X SSC and 50% DMSO. Lastly, cDNA in the concentration range of 100-300 ng/ micro l was determined to be best for arraying and post-processing. Currently, the printing system in this study yields reproducible 9000 spots with a spot size 150 mm diameter, and a 200 nm spot spacing.

Heat-shock response in a molluscan cell line: characterization of the response and cloning of an inducible HSP70 cDNA.

PubMed

Laursen, J R; di Liu, H; Wu, X J; Yoshino, T P

1997-11-01

Sublethal heat-shock of cells of the Bge (Biomphalaria glabrata embryonic) snail cell line resulted in increased or new expression of metabolically labeled polypeptides of approximately 21.5, 41, 70, and 74 kDa molecular mass. Regulation of this response appeared to be at the transcriptional level since a similar protein banding pattern was seen upon SDS-PAGE/fluorographic analysis of polypeptides produced by in vitro translation of total RNA from cells subjected to heat shock. Using a yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) 70-kDa heat-shock protein (HSP70) probe to screen a cDNA library from heat-treated Bge cells, we isolated a full-length cDNA clone encoding a putative Bge HSP70. The cDNA was 2453 bp in length and contained an open reading frame of 1908 bp encoding a 636-amino-acid polypeptide with calculated molecular mass of 70,740 Da. Comparison of a conserved region of 209 amino acid residues revealed > 80% identity between the deduced amino acid sequence of Bge HSP70 and that of yeast (81%), the human blood fluke Schistosoma mansoni (for which B. glabrata serves as intermediate host) (81%), Drosophila (81%), human (84%), and the marine gastropod Aplysia californica (88%, 90%). In addition to the extensive sharing of sequence homology, the identification of several eukaryotic HSP70 signature sequences and an N-linked glycosylation site characteristic of cytoplasmic HSPs strongly support the identity of the Bge cDNA as encoding an authentic HSP70. Results of a Northern blot analysis, using Bge HSP70 clone-specific probes, indicated that gene expression was heat inducible and not constitutively expressed. This is the first reported sequence of an inducible HSP70 from cells originating from a freshwater gastropod and provides a first step in the development of a genetic transformation system for molluscs of medical importance.

Seabream ghrelin: cDNA cloning, genomic organization and promoter studies.

PubMed

Yeung, Chung-Man; Chan, Chi-Bun; Woo, Norman Y S; Cheng, Christopher H K

2006-05-01

Recent studies have indicated that ghrelin stimulates growth hormone release from the pituitary via the growth hormone secretagogue receptor (GHSR). We have previously isolated two GHSR subtypes from the pituitary of the black seabream Acanthopagrus schlegeli. In the present study, we have cloned and characterized ghrelin from the same fish species at both the cDNA and gene levels. The full-length seabream ghrelin cDNA, isolated from sea-bream stomach using a novel approach by exploiting a single conserved region in the coding region, was found to encode a prepropeptide of 107 amino acids, with the predicted mature ghrelin peptide consisting of 20 amino acids (GSSFLSPSQKPQNRGKSSRV). Embedded in this full-length cDNA is a putative fish orthologue of the recently reported mammalian obestatin peptide. The ghrelin gene in black seabream, obtained by genomic PCR, was found to encompass four exons and three introns, possessing the same structural organization as in tilapia and goldfish, but different from that in rainbow trout. In addition, a 2230-bp 5'-flanking region of the seabream ghrelin gene was obtained by genome walking. Sequence analysis revealed that, as in the case of the human ghrelin gene, there is neither a GC box nor a CAAT box present in the isolated 5'-flanking region. However, a number of putative transcription factor-binding sites different from the human counterpart were found in the 5'-flanking region of the seabream ghrelin gene, suggesting that different cis- and trans-acting elements are involved in controlling their gene expression. Functional activity of this 5'-flanking region was examined by cloning it into the pGL3-Basic vector upstream of the luciferase reporter gene and transfected into various cell lines. Positive promoter activity could only be recorded in the colon-derived Caco-2 cells, suggesting that the cloned 5'-flanking region represents the functional promoter of the seabream ghrelin gene, which exhibits tissue-specific promoter

Behavioral and biochemical adjustments of the zebrafish Danio rerio exposed to the β-blocker propranolol.

PubMed

Mitchell, Kimberly M; Moon, Thomas W

2016-09-01

Propranolol (PROP) is a β-blocker prescribed mainly to treat human cardiovascular diseases and as a result of its wide usage and persistence, it is reported in aquatic environments. This study examined whether PROP alters developmental patterns and catecholamine (CA)-regulated processes in the zebrafish (Danio rerio) and if exposure during early life alters the stress response and behaviors of adults. The calculated 48h larva LC50 was 21.6mg/L, well above reported environmental levels (0.01-0.59μg/L). Stressed and PROP-exposed adult zebrafish had reduced testosterone and estradiol levels and exhibited behaviors indicating less anxiety than control fish. Furthermore, adults previously PROP-exposed as embryos/larvae had decreased growth in terms of body length and mass. Finally, these adults showed increased cholesterol and a dose-dependent decrease in testosterone levels compared with unexposed zebrafish. Thus PROP-exposure of zebrafish embryos/larvae alters developmental patterns and CA-regulated processes that may affect normal behaviors and responses to stressors, and at least some of these changes persist in the adult zebrafish. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A jojoba beta-Ketoacyl-CoA synthase cDNA complements the canola fatty acid elongation mutation in transgenic plants.

PubMed

Lassner, M W; Lardizabal, K; Metz, J G

1996-02-01

beta-Ketoacyl-coenzyme A (CoA) synthase (KCS) catalyzes the condensation of malonyl-CoA with long-chain acyl-CoA. This reaction is the initial step of the microsomal fatty acyl-CoA elongation pathway responsible for formation of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs, or fatty acids with chain lengths > 18 carbons). Manipulation of this pathway is significant for agriculture, because it is the basis of conversion of high erucic acid rapeseed into canola. High erucic acid rapeseed oil, used as an industrial feedstock, is rich in VLCFAs, whereas the edible oil extracted from canola is essentially devoid of VLCFAs. Here, we report the cloning of a cDNA from developing jojoba embryos involved in microsomal fatty acid elongation. The jojoba cDNA is homologous to the recently cloned Arabidopsis FATTY ACID ELONGATION1 (FAE1) gene that has been suggested to encode KCS. We characterize the jojoba enzyme and present biochemical data indicating that the jojoba cDNA does indeed encode KCS. Transformation of low erucic acid rapeseed with the jojoba cDNA restored KCS activity to developing embryos and altered the transgenic seed oil composition to contain high levels of VLCFAs. The data reveal the key role KCS plays in determining the chain lengths of fatty acids found in seed oils.

Cloning and characterization of a cDNA encoding topoisomerase II in pea and analysis of its expression in relation to cell proliferation.

PubMed

Reddy, M K; Nair, S; Tewari, K K; Mudgil, Y; Yadav, B S; Sopory, S K

1999-09-01

We have isolated and sequenced four overlapping cDNA clones to identify the full-length cDNA for topoisomerase II (PsTopII) from pea. Using degenerate primers, based on the conserved amino acid sequences of other eukaryotic type II topoisomerases, a 680 bp fragment was PCR-amplified with pea cDNA as template. This fragment was used as a probe to screen an oligo-dT-primed pea cDNA library. A partial cDNA clone was isolated that was truncated at the 3' end. RACE-PCR was employed to isolate the remaining portion of the gene. The total size of PsTopII is 4639 bp with an open reading frame of 4392 bp. The deduced amino acid sequence shows a strong homology to other eukaryotic topoisomerase II (topo II) at the N-terminus end. The topo II transcript was abundant in proliferative tissues. We also show that the level of topo II transcripts could be stimulated by exogenous application of growth factors that induced proliferation in vitro cultures. Light irradiation to etiolated tissue strongly stimulated the expression of topo II. These results suggest that topo II gene expression is up-regulated in response to light and hormones and correlates with cell proliferation. Besides, we have also isolated and analysed the 5'-flanking region of the pea TopII gene. This is first report on the isolation of a putative promoter for topoisomerase II from plants.

Neurochemical measurements in the zebrafish brain

PubMed Central

Jones, Lauren J.; McCutcheon, James E.; Young, Andrew M. J.; Norton, William H. J.

2015-01-01

The zebrafish is an ideal model organism for behavioral genetics and neuroscience. The high conservation of genes and neurotransmitter pathways between zebrafish and other vertebrates permits the translation of research between species. Zebrafish behavior can be studied at both larval and adult stages and recent research has begun to establish zebrafish models for human disease. Fast scan cyclic voltammetry (FSCV) is an electrochemical technique that permits the detection of neurotransmitter release and reuptake. In this study we have used in vitro FSCV to measure the release of analytes in the adult zebrafish telencephalon. We compare different stimulation methods and present a characterization of neurochemical changes in the wild-type zebrafish brain. This study represents the first FSCV recordings in zebrafish, thus paving the way for neurochemical analysis of the fish brain. PMID:26441575

Zebrafish as tools for drug discovery.

PubMed

MacRae, Calum A; Peterson, Randall T

2015-10-01

The zebrafish has become a prominent vertebrate model for disease and has already contributed to several examples of successful phenotype-based drug discovery. For the zebrafish to become useful in drug development more broadly, key hurdles must be overcome, including a more comprehensive elucidation of the similarities and differences between human and zebrafish biology. Recent studies have begun to establish the capabilities and limitations of zebrafish for disease modelling, drug screening, target identification, pharmacology, and toxicology. As our understanding increases and as the technologies for manipulating zebrafish improve, it is hoped that the zebrafish will have a key role in accelerating the emergence of precision medicine.

The Human Transcript Database: A Catalogue of Full Length cDNA Inserts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bouckk John; Michael McLeod; Kim Worley

1999-09-10

The BCM Search Launcher provided improved access to web-based sequence analysis services during the granting period and beyond. The Search Launcher web site grouped analysis procedures by function and provided default parameters that provided reasonable search results for most applications. For instance, most queries were automatically masked for repeat sequences prior to sequence database searches to avoid spurious matches. In addition to the web-based access and arrangements that were made using the functions easier, the BCM Search Launcher provided unique value-added applications like the BEAUTY sequence database search tool that combined information about protein domains and sequence database search resultsmore » to give an enhanced, more complete picture of the reliability and relative value of the information reported. This enhanced search tool made evaluating search results more straight-forward and consistent. Some of the favorite features of the web site are the sequence utilities and the batch client functionality that allows processing of multiple samples from the command line interface. One measure of the success of the BCM Search Launcher is the number of sites that have adopted the models first developed on the site. The graphic display on the BLAST search from the NCBI web site is one such outgrowth, as is the display of protein domain search results within BLAST search results, and the design of the Biology Workbench application. The logs of usage and comments from users confirm the great utility of this resource.« less

[Construction and characterization of a cDNA library from human liver tissue of cirrhosis].

PubMed

Chen, Xiao-hong; Chen, Zhi; Chen, Feng; Zhu, Hai-hong; Zhou, Hong-juan; Yao, Hang-ping

2005-03-01

To construct a cDNA library from human liver tissue of cirrhosis. The total RNA from human liver tissue of cirrhosis was extracted using Trizol method, and the mRNA was purified using mRNA purification kit. SMART technique and CDSIII/3' primer were used for first-strand cDNA synthesis. Long distance PCR was then used to synthesize the double-strand cDNA that was then digested by proteinase K and Sfi I, and was fractionated by CHOMA SPIN-400 column. The cDNA fragments longer than 0.4 kb were collected and ligated to lambdaTripl Ex2 vector. Then lambda-phage packaging reaction and library amplification were performed. The qualities of both unamplified and amplified cDNA libraries was strictly checked by conventional titer determination. Eleven plaques were randomly picked and tested using PCR with universal primers derived from the sequence flanking the vector. The titers of unamplifed and amplified libraries were 1.03 x 10(6) pfu/ml and 1.36 x 10(9) pfu/ml respectively. The percentages of recombinants from both libraries were 97.24 % in unamplified library and 99.02 % in amplified library. The lengths of the inserts were 1.02 kb in average (36.36 % 1 approximately equals 2 kb and 63.64 % 0.5 approximately equals 1.0 kb). A high quality cDNA library from human liver tissue of cirrhosis was constructed successfully, which can be used for screening and cloning new special genes associated with the occurrence of cirrhosis.

Molecular characterization and expression analysis of osteopontin cDNA from lactating mammary gland in yak (Bos grunniens).

PubMed

Bai, W L; Yang, R J; Yin, R H; Jiang, W Q; Luo, G B; Yin, R L; Zhao, S J; Li, C; Zhao, Z H

2012-04-01

Osteopontin (OPN) is a secreted phosphorylated glycoprotein. It has an important role in mammary gland development and lactation, as well as, is thought to be a potential candidate gene for lactation traits. In the present work, we isolated and characterized a full-length open reading frame (ORF) of yak OPN cDNA from lactating mammary tissue, and examined its expression pattern in mammary gland during different stages of lactation, as well as, the recombinant OPN protein of yak was expressed successfully in E. coli. The sequencing results indicated that the isolated cDNA was 1132-bp in length containing a complete ORF of 837-bp. It encoded a precursor protein of yak OPN consisting of 278 amino acid with a signal peptide of 16 amino acids. Yak OPN has a predicted molecular mass of 29285.975 Da and an isoelectric point of 4.245. It had an identity of 65.50-99.16% in cDNA, identity of 52.06-98.56% and similarity of 65.40-98.56% in deduced amino acids with the corresponding sequences of cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, pig, human, and rabbit. The phylogenetic analysis indicated that yak OPN had the closest evolutionary relationship with that of cattle, and next buffalo. In mammary gland, yak OPN was generally transcribed in a declining pattern from colostrum period to dry period with an apparent increase of OPN expression being present in the late period of lactation compared with peak period of lactation. Western blot analysis indicated that His-tagged yak OPN protein expressed in E. coli could be recognized not only by an anti-His-tag antibody but also by an anti-human OPN antibody. These results from the present work provided a foundation for further insight into the role of OPN gene in yak lactation.

Generation of Infectious Poliovirus with Altered Genetic Information from Cloned cDNA.

PubMed

Bujaki, Erika

2016-01-01

The effect of specific genetic alterations on virus biology and phenotype can be studied by a great number of available assays. The following method describes the basic protocol to generate infectious poliovirus with altered genetic information from cloned cDNA in cultured cells.The example explained here involves generation of a recombinant poliovirus genome by simply replacing a portion of the 5' noncoding region with a synthetic gene by restriction cloning. The vector containing the full length poliovirus genome and the insert DNA with the known mutation(s) are cleaved for directional cloning, then ligated and transformed into competent bacteria. The recombinant plasmid DNA is then propagated in bacteria and transcribed to RNA in vitro before RNA transfection of cultured cells is performed. Finally, viral particles are recovered from the cell culture.

Cytochrome P450 20A1 in zebrafish: Cloning, regulation and potential involvement in hyperactivity disorders

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lemaire, Benjamin; Kubota, Akira; O'Meara, Conor M.

Cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes for which there is no functional information are considered “orphan” CYPs. Previous studies showed that CYP20A1, an orphan, is expressed in human hippocampus and substantia nigra, and in zebrafish (Danio rerio) CYP20A1 maternal transcript occurs in eggs, suggesting involvement in brain and in early development. Moreover, hyperactivity is reported in humans with chromosome 2 microdeletions including CYP20A1. We examined CYP20A1 in zebrafish, including impacts of chemical exposure on expression. Zebrafish CYP20A1 cDNA was cloned, sequenced, and aligned with cloned human CYP20A1 and predicted vertebrate orthologs. CYP20A1s share a highly conserved N-terminal region and unusual sequences inmore » the I-helix and the heme-binding CYP signature motifs. CYP20A1 mRNA expression was observed in adult zebrafish organs including the liver, heart, gonads, spleen and brain, as well as the eye and optic nerve. Putative binding sites in proximal promoter regions of CYP20A1s, and response of zebrafish CYP20A1 to selected nuclear and xenobiotic receptor agonists, point to up-regulation by agents involved in steroid hormone response, cholesterol and lipid metabolism. There also was a dose-dependent reduction of CYP20A1 expression in embryos exposed to environmentally relevant levels of methylmercury. Morpholino knockdown of CYP20A1 in developing zebrafish resulted in behavioral effects, including hyperactivity and a slowing of the optomotor response in larvae. The results suggest that altered expression of CYP20A1 might be part of a mechanism linking methylmercury exposure to neurobehavioral deficits. The expanded information on CYP20A1 brings us closer to “deorphanization”, that is, identifying CYP20A1 functions and its roles in health and disease. - Highlights: • The “orphan” CYP20A1 was cloned from zebrafish and its sequence analyzed. • Knockdown of CYP20A1 reduced an optomotor response and elicited bursts of activity. • Effects

[Analysis of the molecular characteristics and cloning of full-length coding sequence of interleukin-2 in tree shrews].

PubMed

Huang, Xiao-Yan; Li, Ming-Li; Xu, Juan; Gao, Yue-Dong; Wang, Wen-Guang; Yin, An-Guo; Li, Xiao-Fei; Sun, Xiao-Mei; Xia, Xue-Shan; Dai, Jie-Jie

2013-04-01

While the tree shrew (Tupaia belangeri chinensis) is an excellent animal model for studying the mechanisms of human diseases, but few studies examine interleukin-2 (IL-2), an important immune factor in disease model evaluation. In this study, a 465 bp of the full-length IL-2 cDNA encoding sequence was cloned from the RNA of tree shrew spleen lymphocytes, which were then cultivated and stimulated with ConA (concanavalin). Clustal W 2.0 was used to compare and analyze the sequence and molecular characteristics, and establish the similarity of the overall structure of IL-2 between tree shrews and other mammals. The homology of the IL-2 nucleotide sequence between tree shrews and humans was 93%, and the amino acid homology was 80%. The phylogenetic tree results, derived through the Neighbour-Joining method using MEGA5.0, indicated a close genetic relationship between tree shrews, Homo sapiens, and Macaca mulatta. The three-dimensional structure analysis showed that the surface charges in most regions of tree shrew IL-2 were similar to between tree shrews and humans; however, the N-glycosylation sites and local structures were different, which may affect antibody binding. These results provide a fundamental basis for the future study of IL-2 monoclonal antibody in tree shrews, thereby improving their utility as a model.

Axonal regeneration in zebrafish spinal cord

PubMed Central

Hui, Subhra Prakash

2018-01-01

Abstract In the present review we discuss two interrelated events—axonal damage and repair—known to occur after spinal cord injury (SCI) in the zebrafish. Adult zebrafish are capable of regenerating axonal tracts and can restore full functionality after SCI. Unlike fish, axon regeneration in the adult mammalian central nervous system is extremely limited. As a consequence of an injury there is very little repair of disengaged axons and therefore functional deficit persists after SCI in adult mammals. In contrast, peripheral nervous system axons readily regenerate following injury and hence allow functional recovery both in mammals and fish. A better mechanistic understanding of these three scenarios could provide a more comprehensive insight into the success or failure of axonal regeneration after SCI. This review summarizes the present understanding of the cellular and molecular basis of axonal regeneration, in both the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system, and large scale gene expression analysis is used to focus on different events during regeneration. The discovery and identification of genes involved in zebrafish spinal cord regeneration and subsequent functional experimentation will provide more insight into the endogenous mechanism of myelination and remyelination. Furthermore, precise knowledge of the mechanism underlying the extraordinary axonal regeneration process in zebrafish will also allow us to unravel the potential therapeutic strategies to be implemented for enhancing regrowth and remyelination of axons in mammals. PMID:29721326

Axonal regeneration in zebrafish spinal cord.

PubMed

Ghosh, Sukla; Hui, Subhra Prakash

2018-03-01

In the present review we discuss two interrelated events-axonal damage and repair-known to occur after spinal cord injury (SCI) in the zebrafish. Adult zebrafish are capable of regenerating axonal tracts and can restore full functionality after SCI. Unlike fish, axon regeneration in the adult mammalian central nervous system is extremely limited. As a consequence of an injury there is very little repair of disengaged axons and therefore functional deficit persists after SCI in adult mammals. In contrast, peripheral nervous system axons readily regenerate following injury and hence allow functional recovery both in mammals and fish. A better mechanistic understanding of these three scenarios could provide a more comprehensive insight into the success or failure of axonal regeneration after SCI. This review summarizes the present understanding of the cellular and molecular basis of axonal regeneration, in both the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system, and large scale gene expression analysis is used to focus on different events during regeneration. The discovery and identification of genes involved in zebrafish spinal cord regeneration and subsequent functional experimentation will provide more insight into the endogenous mechanism of myelination and remyelination. Furthermore, precise knowledge of the mechanism underlying the extraordinary axonal regeneration process in zebrafish will also allow us to unravel the potential therapeutic strategies to be implemented for enhancing regrowth and remyelination of axons in mammals.

Construction of high-quality Caco-2 three-frame cDNA library and its application to yeast two-hybrid for the human astrovirus protein-protein interaction.

PubMed

Zhao, Wei; Li, Xin; Liu, Wen-Hui; Zhao, Jian; Jin, Yi-Ming; Sui, Ting-Ting

2014-09-01

Human epithelial colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) cells are widely used as an in vitro model of the human small intestinal mucosa. Caco-2 cells are host cells of the human astrovirus (HAstV) and other enteroviruses. High quality cDNA libraries are pertinent resources and critical tools for protein-protein interaction research, but are currently unavailable for Caco-2 cells. To construct a three-open reading frame, full length-expression cDNA library from the Caco-2 cell line for application to HAstV protein-protein interaction screening, total RNA was extracted from Caco-2 cells. The switching mechanism at the 5' end of the RNA transcript technique was used for cDNA synthesis. Double-stranded cDNA was digested by Sfi I and ligated to reconstruct a pGADT7-Sfi I three-frame vector. The ligation mixture was transformed into Escherichia coli HST08 premium electro cells by electroporation to construct the primary cDNA library. The library capacity was 1.0×10(6)clones. Gel electrophoresis results indicated that the fragments ranged from 0.5kb to 4.2kb. Randomly picked clones show that the recombination rate was 100%. The three-frame primary cDNA library plasmid mixture (5×10(5)cfu) was also transformed into E. coli HST08 premium electro cells, and all clones were harvested to amplify the cDNA library. To detect the sufficiency of the cDNA library, HAstV capsid protein as bait was screened and tested against the Caco-2 cDNA library by a yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) system. A total of 20 proteins were found to interact with the capsid protein. These results showed that a high-quality three-frame cDNA library from Caco-2 cells was successfully constructed. This library was efficient for the application to the Y2H system, and could be used for future research. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simple, economical heat-shock devices for zebrafish housing racks.

PubMed

Duszynski, Robert J; Topczewski, Jacek; LeClair, Elizabeth E

2011-12-01

One reason for the popularity of the zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model vertebrate is the ability to manipulate gene expression in this organism. A common method is to induce gene expression transiently under control of a heat-shock promoter (e.g., hsp70l). By making simple mechanical adjustments to small aquarium heaters (25-50W), we were able to produce consistent and reliable heat-shock conditions within a conventional zebrafish housing system. Up to two heat-shock intervals per day (>37°C) could be maintained under conditions of continuous flow (5-25 mL/min). Temperature logging every 30 s indicated rapid warm up times, consistent heat-shock lengths, and accurate and precise peak water temperatures (mean±SD=38°C±0.2°C). The biological effects of these heat-shock treatments were confirmed by observing inducible expression of enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and inhibition of caudal fin regeneration in a transgenic fish line expressing a dominant negative fibroblast growth factor receptor (Tg(hsp70l:dnfgfr1-EGFP)(pd1)). These devices are inexpensive, easily modified, and can be calibrated to accommodate a variety of experimental designs. After setup on a programmable timer, the heaters require no intervention to produce consistent daily heat shocks, and all other standard care protocols can be followed in the fish facility. The simplicity and stability of these devices make them suitable for long-term heat shocks at any stage of the zebrafish lifecycle (>7 days postfertilization), and useful for both laboratory and classroom experiments on transgenic zebrafish.

A jojoba beta-Ketoacyl-CoA synthase cDNA complements the canola fatty acid elongation mutation in transgenic plants.

PubMed Central

Lassner, M W; Lardizabal, K; Metz, J G

1996-01-01

beta-Ketoacyl-coenzyme A (CoA) synthase (KCS) catalyzes the condensation of malonyl-CoA with long-chain acyl-CoA. This reaction is the initial step of the microsomal fatty acyl-CoA elongation pathway responsible for formation of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs, or fatty acids with chain lengths > 18 carbons). Manipulation of this pathway is significant for agriculture, because it is the basis of conversion of high erucic acid rapeseed into canola. High erucic acid rapeseed oil, used as an industrial feedstock, is rich in VLCFAs, whereas the edible oil extracted from canola is essentially devoid of VLCFAs. Here, we report the cloning of a cDNA from developing jojoba embryos involved in microsomal fatty acid elongation. The jojoba cDNA is homologous to the recently cloned Arabidopsis FATTY ACID ELONGATION1 (FAE1) gene that has been suggested to encode KCS. We characterize the jojoba enzyme and present biochemical data indicating that the jojoba cDNA does indeed encode KCS. Transformation of low erucic acid rapeseed with the jojoba cDNA restored KCS activity to developing embryos and altered the transgenic seed oil composition to contain high levels of VLCFAs. The data reveal the key role KCS plays in determining the chain lengths of fatty acids found in seed oils. PMID:8742713

Cloning and characterization of transferrin cDNA and rapid detection of transferrin gene polymorphism in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

PubMed

Tange, N; Jong-Young, L; Mikawa, N; Hirono, I; Aoki, T

1997-12-01

A cDNA clone of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) transferrin was obtained from a liver cDNA library. The 2537-bp cDNA sequence contained an open reading frame encoding 691 amino acids and the 5' and 3' noncoding regions. The amino acid sequences at the iron-binding sites and the two N-linked glycosylation sites, and the cysteine residues were consistent with known, conserved vertebrate transferrin cDNA sequences. Single N-linked glycosylation sites existed on the N- and C-lobe. The deduced amino acid sequence of the rainbow trout transferrin cDNA had 92.9% identities with transferrin of coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch); 85%, Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar); 67.3%, medaka (Oryzias latipes); 61.3% Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua); and 59.7%, Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus). The long and accurate polymerase chain reaction (LA-PCR) was used to amplify approximately 6.5 kb of the transferrin gene from rainbow trout genomic DNA. Restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) of the LA-PCR products revealed three digestion patterns in 22 samples.

Zebrafish on a chip: a novel platform for real-time monitoring of drug-induced developmental toxicity.

PubMed

Li, Yinbao; Yang, Fan; Chen, Zuanguang; Shi, Lijuan; Zhang, Beibei; Pan, Jianbin; Li, Xinchun; Sun, Duanping; Yang, Hongzhi

2014-01-01

Pharmaceutical safety testing requires a cheap, fast and highly efficient platform for real-time evaluation of drug toxicity and secondary effects. In this study, we have developed a microfluidic system for phenotype-based evaluation of toxic and teratogenic effects of drugs using zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos and larvae as the model organism. The microfluidic chip is composed of two independent functional units, enabling the assessment of zebrafish embryos and larvae. Each unit consists of a fluidic concentration gradient generator and a row of seven culture chambers to accommodate zebrafish. To test the accuracy of this new chip platform, we examined the toxicity and teratogenicity of an anti-asthmatic agent-aminophylline (Apl) on 210 embryos and 210 larvae (10 individuals per chamber). The effect of Apl on zebrafish embryonic development was quantitatively assessed by recording a series of physiological indicators such as heart rate, survival rate, body length and hatch rate. Most importantly, a new index called clonic convulsion rate, combined with mortality was used to evaluate the toxicities of Apl on zebrafish larvae. We found that Apl can induce deformity and cardiovascular toxicity in both zebrafish embryos and larvae. This microdevice is a multiplexed testing apparatus that allows for the examination of indexes beyond toxicity and teratogenicity at the sub-organ and cellular levels and provides a potentially cost-effective and rapid pharmaceutical safety assessment tool.

Thyroid endocrine disruption and external body morphology of Zebrafish.

PubMed

Sharma, Prakash; Grabowski, Timothy B; Patiño, Reynaldo

2016-01-15

This study examined the effects thyroid-active compounds during early development on body morphology of Zebrafish (Danio rerio). Three-day postfertilization (dpf) larvae were exposed to goitrogen [methimazole (MZ, 0.15mM)], combination of MZ (0.15mM) and thyroxine (T4, 2nM), T4 (2nM), or control (reconstituted water) treatments until 33dpf and subsequently maintained in reconstituted water until 45dpf. Samples were taken at 33 and 45dpf for multivariate analysis of geometric distances between selected homologous landmarks placed on digital images of fish, and for histological assessment of thyrocytes. Body mass, standard length, and pectoral fin length were separately measured on remaining fish at 45dpf. Histological analysis confirmed the hypothyroid effect (increased thyrocyte height) of MZ and rescue effect of T4 co-administration. Geometric distance analysis showed that pectoral and pelvic fins shifted backward along the rostrocaudal axis under hypothyroid conditions at 45dpf and that T4 co-treatment prevented this shift. Pectoral fin length at 45dpf was reduced by exposure to MZ and rescued by co-administration of T4, but it was not associated with standard length. Methimazole caused a reduction in body mass and length at 45dpf that could not be rescued by T4 co-administration, and non-thyroidal effects of MZ on body shape were also recognized at 33 and 45dpf. Alterations in the length and position of paired fins caused by exposure to thyroid-disrupting chemicals during early development, as shown here for Zebrafish, could affect physical aspects of locomotion and consequently other important organismal functions such as foraging, predator avoidance, and ultimately survival and recruitment into the adult population. Results of this study also suggest the need to include rescue treatments in endocrine disruption studies that rely on goitrogens as reference for thyroid-mediated effects. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Structure of the full-length TRPV2 channel by cryo-EM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huynh, Kevin W.; Cohen, Matthew R.; Jiang, Jiansen; Samanta, Amrita; Lodowski, David T.; Zhou, Z. Hong; Moiseenkova-Bell, Vera Y.

2016-03-01

Transient receptor potential (TRP) proteins form a superfamily Ca2+-permeable cation channels regulated by a range of chemical and physical stimuli. Structural analysis of a `minimal' TRP vanilloid subtype 1 (TRPV1) elucidated a mechanism of channel activation by agonists through changes in its outer pore region. Though homologous to TRPV1, other TRPV channels (TRPV2-6) are insensitive to TRPV1 activators including heat and vanilloids. To further understand the structural basis of TRPV channel function, we determined the structure of full-length TRPV2 at ~5 Å resolution by cryo-electron microscopy. Like TRPV1, TRPV2 contains two constrictions, one each in the pore-forming upper and lower gates. The agonist-free full-length TRPV2 has wider upper and lower gates compared with closed and agonist-activated TRPV1. We propose these newly revealed TRPV2 structural features contribute to diversity of TRPV channels.

Structure of the full-length TRPV2 channel by cryo-EM.

PubMed

Huynh, Kevin W; Cohen, Matthew R; Jiang, Jiansen; Samanta, Amrita; Lodowski, David T; Zhou, Z Hong; Moiseenkova-Bell, Vera Y

2016-03-29

Transient receptor potential (TRP) proteins form a superfamily Ca(2+)-permeable cation channels regulated by a range of chemical and physical stimuli. Structural analysis of a 'minimal' TRP vanilloid subtype 1 (TRPV1) elucidated a mechanism of channel activation by agonists through changes in its outer pore region. Though homologous to TRPV1, other TRPV channels (TRPV2-6) are insensitive to TRPV1 activators including heat and vanilloids. To further understand the structural basis of TRPV channel function, we determined the structure of full-length TRPV2 at ∼5 Å resolution by cryo-electron microscopy. Like TRPV1, TRPV2 contains two constrictions, one each in the pore-forming upper and lower gates. The agonist-free full-length TRPV2 has wider upper and lower gates compared with closed and agonist-activated TRPV1. We propose these newly revealed TRPV2 structural features contribute to diversity of TRPV channels.

Reverse genetics in high throughput: rapid generation of complete negative strand RNA virus cDNA clones and recombinant viruses thereof.

PubMed

Nolden, T; Pfaff, F; Nemitz, S; Freuling, C M; Höper, D; Müller, T; Finke, Stefan

2016-04-05

Reverse genetics approaches are indispensable tools for proof of concepts in virus replication and pathogenesis. For negative strand RNA viruses (NSVs) the limited number of infectious cDNA clones represents a bottleneck as clones are often generated from cell culture adapted or attenuated viruses, with limited potential for pathogenesis research. We developed a system in which cDNA copies of complete NSV genomes were directly cloned into reverse genetics vectors by linear-to-linear RedE/T recombination. Rapid cloning of multiple rabies virus (RABV) full length genomes and identification of clones identical to field virus consensus sequence confirmed the approache's reliability. Recombinant viruses were recovered from field virus cDNA clones. Similar growth kinetics of parental and recombinant viruses, preservation of field virus characters in cell type specific replication and virulence in the mouse model were confirmed. Reduced titers after reporter gene insertion indicated that the low level of field virus replication is affected by gene insertions. The flexibility of the strategy was demonstrated by cloning multiple copies of an orthobunyavirus L genome segment. This important step in reverse genetics technology development opens novel avenues for the analysis of virus variability combined with phenotypical characterization of recombinant viruses at a clonal level.

Zebrafish and Streptococcal Infections.

PubMed

Saralahti, A; Rämet, M

2015-09-01

Streptococcal bacteria are a versatile group of gram-positive bacteria capable of infecting several host organisms, including humans and fish. Streptococcal species are common colonizers of the human respiratory and gastrointestinal tract, but they also cause some of the most common life-threatening, invasive infections in humans and aquaculture. With its unique characteristics and efficient tools for genetic and imaging applications, the zebrafish (Danio rerio) has emerged as a powerful vertebrate model for infectious diseases. Several zebrafish models introduced so far have shown that zebrafish are suitable models for both zoonotic and human-specific infections. Recently, several zebrafish models mimicking human streptococcal infections have also been developed. These models show great potential in providing novel information about the pathogenic mechanisms and host responses associated with human streptococcal infections. Here, we review the zebrafish infection models for the most relevant streptococcal species: the human-specific Streptococcus pneumoniae and Streptococcus pyogenes, and the zoonotic Streptococcus iniae and Streptococcus agalactiae. The recent success and the future potential of these models for the study of host-pathogen interactions in streptococcal infections are also discussed. © 2015 The Foundation for the Scandinavian Journal of Immunology.

INDUCED AND SPONTANEOUS NEOPLASIA IN ZEBRAFISH.

EPA Science Inventory

To address the potential of zebrafish as a cancer model, it is important to determine the susceptibility of zebrafish to tumors, and to compare zebrafish tumors with human tumors. To determine whether the commonly-used germ line mutagen, ethylnitrosourea (ENU) induces tumors, we ...

Effects of gamma radiation on the early developmental stages of Zebrafish (Danio rerio).

PubMed

Praveen Kumar, M K; Shyama, S K; Kashif, Shamim; Dubey, S K; Avelyno, D'costa; Sonaye, B H; Kadam Samit, B; Chaubey, R C

2017-08-01

The zebrafish is gaining importance as a popular vertebrate model organism and is widely employed in ecotoxicological studies, especially for the biomonitoring of pollution in water bodies. There is limited data on the genetic mechanisms governing the adverse health effects in regards to an early developmental exposure to gamma radiation. In the present study zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos were exposed to 1, 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10Gy of gamma radiation at 3h post fertilization (hpf). Different developmental toxicity endpoints were investigated. Further, expression of genes associated with the development and DNA damage i.e. (sox2 sox19a and p53) were evaluated using Quantitative PCR (qPCR). The significant changes in the expression of sox2 sox19a and p53 genes were observed. This data was supported the developmental defects observed in the zebrafish embryo exposed to gamma radiation such as i.e. increased DNA damage, decreased hatching rate, increase in median hatching time, decreased body length, increased mortality rate, increased morphological deformities. Further, study shows that the potential ecotoxicological threat of gamma radiation on the early developmental stages of zebrafish. Further, it revealed that the above parameters can be used as predictive biomarkers of gamma radiation exposure. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Structure of the full-length TRPV2 channel by cryo-EM

PubMed Central

Huynh, Kevin W.; Cohen, Matthew R.; Jiang, Jiansen; Samanta, Amrita; Lodowski, David T.; Zhou, Z. Hong; Moiseenkova-Bell, Vera Y.

2016-01-01

Transient receptor potential (TRP) proteins form a superfamily Ca2+-permeable cation channels regulated by a range of chemical and physical stimuli. Structural analysis of a ‘minimal' TRP vanilloid subtype 1 (TRPV1) elucidated a mechanism of channel activation by agonists through changes in its outer pore region. Though homologous to TRPV1, other TRPV channels (TRPV2–6) are insensitive to TRPV1 activators including heat and vanilloids. To further understand the structural basis of TRPV channel function, we determined the structure of full-length TRPV2 at ∼5 Å resolution by cryo-electron microscopy. Like TRPV1, TRPV2 contains two constrictions, one each in the pore-forming upper and lower gates. The agonist-free full-length TRPV2 has wider upper and lower gates compared with closed and agonist-activated TRPV1. We propose these newly revealed TRPV2 structural features contribute to diversity of TRPV channels. PMID:27021073

cDNA cloning and analysis of betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase, a salt inducible enzyme in sugar beet

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCue, K.F.; Hanson, A.D.

1990-05-01

Betaine accumulates and serves as a compatible osmolyte in some plants subjected to drought or salinity stress. The last enzyme in the betaine biosynthetic pathway is betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH). The activity of BADH increases in response to increasing salinity levels. This increase in activity corresponds to an increase in protein detectable by immunoblotting, and to an increase in the translatable BADH mRNA. BADH was cloned from a cDNA library constructed in {lambda}gt10 using poly(A){sup +} RNA from sugar beets salinized to 500 mM NaCl. cDNAs were size selected (>1kb) before ligation into the vector, and the library was screenedmore » with a spinach BADH cDNA probe. Three nearly full length clones obtained were confirmed as BADH by their nucleotide and deduced amino acid homology to spinach BADH. Clones averaged 1.8 kb and contained open reading frames of 500 amino acids at 80% identity with spinach BADH. RNA gel blot analysis of poly(A){sup +} RNA indicated that salinization to 500 mM NaCl resulted in a 5-fold increase of BADH mRNA level.« less

Sequence of a cDNA and expression of the gene encoding a putative epidermal chitin synthase of Manduca sexta.

PubMed

Zhu, Yu-Cheng; Specht, Charles A; Dittmer, Neal T; Muthukrishnan, Subbaratnam; Kanost, Michael R; Kramer, Karl J

2002-11-01

Glycosyltransferases are enzymes that synthesize oligosaccharides, polysaccharides and glycoconjugates. One type of glycosyltransferase is chitin synthase, a very important enzyme in biology, which is utilized by insects, fungi, and other invertebrates to produce chitin, a polysaccharide of beta-1,4-linked N-acetylglucosamine. Chitin is an important component of the insect's exoskeletal cuticle and gut lining. To identify and characterize a chitin synthase gene of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta, degenerate primers were designed from two highly conserved regions in fungal and nematode chitin synthase protein sequences and then used to amplify a similar region from Manduca cDNA. A full-length cDNA of 5152 nucleotides was assembled for the putative Manduca chitin synthase gene, MsCHS1, and sequencing of genomic DNA verified the contiguity of the sequence. The MsCHS1 cDNA has an ORF of 4692 nucleotides that encodes a transmembrane protein of 1564 amino acid residues with a mass of approximately 179 kDa (GenBank no. AY062175). It is most similar, over its entire length of protein sequence, to putative chitin synthases from other insects and nematodes, with 68% identity to enzymes from both the blow fly, Lucilia cuprina, and the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster. The similarity with fungal chitin synthases is restricted to the putative catalytic domain, and the MsCHS1 protein has, at equivalent positions, several amino acids that are essential for activity as revealed by mutagenesis of the fungal enzymes. A 5.3-kb transcript of MsCHS1 was identified by northern blot hybridization of RNA from larval epidermis, suggesting that the enzyme functions to make chitin deposited in the cuticle. Further examination by RT-PCR showed that MsCHS1 expression is regulated in the epidermis, with the amount of transcript increasing during phases of cuticle deposition.

The physiological role of CTGF/CCN2 in zebrafish notochond development and biological analysis of the proximal promoter region.

PubMed

Chiou, Ming-Jyun; Chao, Tsung-Tai; Wu, Jen-Leih; Kuo, Ching-Ming; Chen, Jyh-Yih

2006-10-20

During mouse embryogenesis, CTGF/CCN2 is expressed in zones containing hypertrophic chondroctyes and calcifying cartilage such as long bones, ribs, vertebral column, and phalanges. But in fish, its expression is yet unclear. Development of the vertebrae is morphologically similar among vertebrates, indicating that the underlying mechanism regulating the process is highly conserved during evolution. Analysis of 3.2kb of the CTGF/CCN2 proximal promoter sequence revealed a consensus TATAA box, putative AP1, Brn-2, CdxA, C/EBP alpha, C/EBP beta, C-Ets-, delta E, HFH-2, and HSF2 binding sites. Transient expression experiments with a 5'-deletion revealed at least 4 regulatory regions in the zebrafish CTGF/CCN2 gene, 2 with a stimulatory effect on transcription and 2 with an apparent inhibitory effect after IGF-I treatment in the ZFL cell line. To study the promoter-specific expression, we constructed a series of CTGF/CCN2 (3.0-, 2.5-, 2.0-, 1.5-, 1.0-, and 0.4-kb) promoter-driven green fluorescent protein (GFP) fragments encoding the GFP cDNA transgene which was microinjected into zebrafish embryos. Morphological studies of transgenic zebrafish indicated that the CTGF/CCN2 promoter-driven GFP transcripts appeared in the notochord. Targeted knockdown of the CTGF/CCN2 gene by two antisense morpholino oligonucleotides resulted in disruptions to notochord development. From a comparative point of view, this study of the CTGF/CCN2 gene in zebrafish may correlate well with those previously published on the mouse. These molecular results suggest that CTGF/CCN2 plays an important role in notochord development and is required for general embryonic development.

Large-scale analysis of full-length cDNAs from the tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) cultivar Micro-Tom, a reference system for the Solanaceae genomics.

PubMed

Aoki, Koh; Yano, Kentaro; Suzuki, Ayako; Kawamura, Shingo; Sakurai, Nozomu; Suda, Kunihiro; Kurabayashi, Atsushi; Suzuki, Tatsuya; Tsugane, Taneaki; Watanabe, Manabu; Ooga, Kazuhide; Torii, Maiko; Narita, Takanori; Shin-I, Tadasu; Kohara, Yuji; Yamamoto, Naoki; Takahashi, Hideki; Watanabe, Yuichiro; Egusa, Mayumi; Kodama, Motoichiro; Ichinose, Yuki; Kikuchi, Mari; Fukushima, Sumire; Okabe, Akiko; Arie, Tsutomu; Sato, Yuko; Yazawa, Katsumi; Satoh, Shinobu; Omura, Toshikazu; Ezura, Hiroshi; Shibata, Daisuke

2010-03-30

genomics and molecular breeding. Full-length cDNA sequences and their annotations are provided in the database KaFTom http://www.pgb.kazusa.or.jp/kaftom/ via the website of the National Bioresource Project Tomato http://tomato.nbrp.jp.

piggyBac transposons expressing full-length human dystrophin enable genetic correction of dystrophic mesoangioblasts

PubMed Central

Loperfido, Mariana; Jarmin, Susan; Dastidar, Sumitava; Di Matteo, Mario; Perini, Ilaria; Moore, Marc; Nair, Nisha; Samara-Kuko, Ermira; Athanasopoulos, Takis; Tedesco, Francesco Saverio; Dickson, George; Sampaolesi, Maurilio; VandenDriessche, Thierry; Chuah, Marinee K.

2016-01-01

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic neuromuscular disorder caused by the absence of dystrophin. We developed a novel gene therapy approach based on the use of the piggyBac (PB) transposon system to deliver the coding DNA sequence (CDS) of either full-length human dystrophin (DYS: 11.1 kb) or truncated microdystrophins (MD1: 3.6 kb; MD2: 4 kb). PB transposons encoding microdystrophins were transfected in C2C12 myoblasts, yielding 65±2% MD1 and 66±2% MD2 expression in differentiated multinucleated myotubes. A hyperactive PB (hyPB) transposase was then deployed to enable transposition of the large-size PB transposon (17 kb) encoding the full-length DYS and green fluorescence protein (GFP). Stable GFP expression attaining 78±3% could be achieved in the C2C12 myoblasts that had undergone transposition. Western blot analysis demonstrated expression of the full-length human DYS protein in myotubes. Subsequently, dystrophic mesoangioblasts from a Golden Retriever muscular dystrophy dog were transfected with the large-size PB transposon resulting in 50±5% GFP-expressing cells after stable transposition. This was consistent with correction of the differentiated dystrophic mesoangioblasts following expression of full-length human DYS. These results pave the way toward a novel non-viral gene therapy approach for DMD using PB transposons underscoring their potential to deliver large therapeutic genes. PMID:26682797

Anesthesia and euthanasia in zebrafish.

PubMed

Matthews, Monte; Varga, Zoltán M

2012-01-01

Because of the relative ease of embryonic manipulation and observation, the ability to produce a great number of genetic mutations, efficient screening methods, and the continued advance of molecular genetic tools, such as the progress in sequencing and mapping of the zebrafish genome, the use of zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a biomedical model organism continues to expand. However, studies involving zebrafish husbandry and veterinary care struggle to keep pace with scientific progress. This article outlines some of the current, acceptable methods for providing anesthesia and euthanasia and provides some examples of how performance-based approaches can be used to advance the relatively limited number of anesthetic and euthanizing techniques available for zebrafish.

The presence of MWCNTs reduces developmental toxicity of PFOS in early life stage of zebrafish.

PubMed

Wang, Shutao; Zhuang, Changlu; Du, Jia; Wu, Chuan; You, Hong

2017-03-01

Both carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) are used widely. There is considerable concern regarding their ecotoxicity. CNTs might interact with PFOS in water and result in different impacts compared with those after single exposures. To our knowledge, the developmental toxicity of PFOS in the presence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in the early life stage of zebrafish (from 3 h post fertilization (hpf) to 96 hpf) was investigated for the first time in this study. The embryos and larvae were exposed to PFOS (0.2, 0.4, 0.8, and 1.6 mg/L), MWCNTs (50 mg/L), and a mixture of both. Compared with PFOS exposure, the adverse effects induced by PFOS on the hatching rate of zebrafish embryos and the heart rate and body length of zebrafish larvae were reduced in the presence of MWCNTs, and mortality and malformation were also alleviated. In addition, zebrafish larvae exposed to PFOS showed decreased activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase, as well as decreased levels of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde, in the presence of MWCNTs, indicating that oxidative stress and lipid peroxidation was relieved. Thus, the presence of MWCNTs reduces the developmental toxicity of PFOS in the early life stage of zebrafish. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Maintenance of Zebrafish Lines at the European Zebrafish Resource Center.

PubMed

Geisler, Robert; Borel, Nadine; Ferg, Marco; Maier, Jana Viktoria; Strähle, Uwe

2016-07-01

We have established a European Zebrafish Resource Center (EZRC) at the KIT. This center not only maintains and distributes a large number of existing mutant and transgenic zebrafish lines but also gives zebrafish researchers access to screening services and technologies such as imaging and high-throughput sequencing, provided by the Institute of Toxicology and Genetics (ITG). The EZRC maintains and distributes the stock collection of the Nüsslein-Volhard laboratory, comprising over 2000 publicly released mutations, as frozen sperm samples. Within the framework of the ZF-HEALTH EU project, the EZRC distributes over 10,000 knockout mutations from the Sanger Institute (United Kingdom), as well as over 100 mutant and transgenic lines from other sources. In this article, we detail the measures we have taken to ensure the health of our fish, including hygiene, quarantine, and veterinary inspections.

The Ndst Gene Family in Zebrafish: Role of Ndst1b in Pharyngeal Arch Formation

PubMed Central

Haitina, Tatjana; Habicher, Judith; Ledin, Johan; Kjellén, Lena

2015-01-01

Heparan sulfate (HS) proteoglycans are ubiquitous components of the extracellular matrix and plasma membrane of metazoans. The sulfation pattern of the HS glycosaminoglycan chain is characteristic for each tissue and changes during development. The glucosaminyl N-deacetylase/N-sulfotransferase (NDST) enzymes catalyze N-deacetylation and N-sulfation during HS biosynthesis and have a key role in designing the sulfation pattern. We here report on the presence of five NDST genes in zebrafish. Zebrafish ndst1a, ndst1b, ndst2a and ndst2b represent duplicated mammalian orthologues of NDST1 and NDST2 that arose through teleost specific genome duplication. Interestingly, the single zebrafish orthologue ndst3, is equally similar to tetrapod Ndst3 and Ndst4. It is likely that a local duplication in the common ancestor of lobe-finned fish and tetrapods gave rise to these two genes. All zebrafish Ndst genes showed distinct but partially overlapping expression patterns during embryonic development. Morpholino knockdown of ndst1b resulted in delayed development, craniofacial cartilage abnormalities, shortened body and pectoral fin length, resembling some of the features of the Ndst1 mouse knockout. PMID:25767878

Development of a quantitative morphological assessment of toxicant-treated zebrafish larvae using brightfield imaging and high-content analysis.

PubMed

Deal, Samantha; Wambaugh, John; Judson, Richard; Mosher, Shad; Radio, Nick; Houck, Keith; Padilla, Stephanie

2016-09-01

One of the rate-limiting procedures in a developmental zebrafish screen is the morphological assessment of each larva. Most researchers opt for a time-consuming, structured visual assessment by trained human observer(s). The present studies were designed to develop a more objective, accurate and rapid method for screening zebrafish for dysmorphology. Instead of the very detailed human assessment, we have developed the computational malformation index, which combines the use of high-content imaging with a very brief human visual assessment. Each larva was quickly assessed by a human observer (basic visual assessment), killed, fixed and assessed for dysmorphology with the Zebratox V4 BioApplication using the Cellomics® ArrayScan® V(TI) high-content image analysis platform. The basic visual assessment adds in-life parameters, and the high-content analysis assesses each individual larva for various features (total area, width, spine length, head-tail length, length-width ratio, perimeter-area ratio). In developing the computational malformation index, a training set of hundreds of embryos treated with hundreds of chemicals were visually assessed using the basic or detailed method. In the second phase, we assessed both the stability of these high-content measurements and its performance using a test set of zebrafish treated with a dose range of two reference chemicals (trans-retinoic acid or cadmium). We found the measures were stable for at least 1 week and comparison of these automated measures to detailed visual inspection of the larvae showed excellent congruence. Our computational malformation index provides an objective manner for rapid phenotypic brightfield assessment of individual larva in a developmental zebrafish assay. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Sequence of a cDNA encoding pancreatic preprosomatostatin-22.

PubMed Central

Magazin, M; Minth, C D; Funckes, C L; Deschenes, R; Tavianini, M A; Dixon, J E

1982-01-01

We report the nucleotide sequence of a precursor to somatostatin that upon proteolytic processing may give rise to a hormone of 22 amino acids. The nucleotide sequence of a cDNA from the channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) encodes a precursor to somatostatin that is 105 amino acids (Mr, 11,500). The cDNA coding for somatostatin-22 consists of 36 nucleotides in the 5' untranslated region, 315 nucleotides that code for the precursor to somatostatin-22, 269 nucleotides at the 3' untranslated region, and a variable length of poly(A). The putative preprohormone contains a sequence of hydrophobic amino acids at the amino terminus that has the properties of a "signal" peptide. A connecting sequence of approximately 57 amino acids is followed by a single Arg-Arg sequence, which immediately precedes the hormone. Somatostatin-22 is homologous to somatostatin-14 in 7 of the 14 amino acids, including the Phe-Trp-Lys sequence. Hybridization selection of mRNA, followed by its translation in a wheat germ cell-free system, resulted in the synthesis of a single polypeptide having a molecular weight of approximately 10,000 as estimated on Na-DodSO4/polyacrylamide gels. Images PMID:6127673

[Construction of dengue virus-specific full-length fully human antibody libraries by mammalian display technology].

PubMed

Wen, Yangming; Lan, Kaijian; Wang, Junjie; Yu, Jingyi; Qu, Yarong; Zhao, Wei; Zhang, Fuchun; Tan, Wanlong; Cao, Hong; Zhou, Chen

2013-06-01

To construct dengue virus-specific full-length fully human antibody libraries using mammalian cell surface display technique. Total RNA was extracted from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from convalescent patients with dengue fever. The reservoirs of the light chain and heavy chain variable regions (LCκ and VH) of the antibody genes were amplified by RT-PCR and inserted into the vector pDGB-HC-TM separately to construct the light chain and heavy chain libraries. The library DNAs were transfected into CHO cells and the expression of full-length fully human antibodies on the surface of CHO cells was analyzed by flow cytometry. Using 1.2 µg of the total RNA isolated from the PBMCs as the template, the LCκ and VH were amplified and the full-length fully human antibody mammalian display libraries were constructed. The kappa light chain gene library had a size of 1.45×10(4) and the heavy chain gene library had a size of 1.8×10(5). Sequence analysis showed that 8 out of the 10 light chain clones and 7 out of the 10 heavy chain clones randomly picked up from the constructed libraries contained correct open reading frames. FACS analysis demonstrated that all the 15 clones with correct open reading frames expressed full-length antibodies, which could be detected on CHO cell surfaces. After co-transfection of the heavy chain and light chain gene libraries into CHO cells, the expression of full-length antibodies on CHO cell surfaces could be detected by FACS analysis with an expressible diversity of the antibody library reaching 1.46×10(9) [(1.45×10(4)×80%)×(1.8×10(5)×70%)]. Using 1.2 µg of total RNA as template, the LCκ and VH full-length fully human antibody libraries against dengue virus have been successfully constructed with an expressible diversity of 10(9).

Unit-length line-1 transcripts in human teratocarcinoma cells.

PubMed Central

Skowronski, J; Fanning, T G; Singer, M F

1988-01-01

We have characterized the approximately 6.5-kilobase cytoplasmic poly(A)+ Line-1 (L1) RNA present in a human teratocarcinoma cell line, NTera2D1, by primer extension and by analysis of cloned cDNAs. The bulk of the RNA begins (5' end) at the residue previously identified as the 5' terminus of the longest known primate genomic L1 elements, presumed to represent "unit" length. Several of the cDNA clones are close to 6 kilobase pairs, that is, close to full length. The partial sequences of 18 cDNA clones and full sequence of one (5,975 base pairs) indicate that many different genomic L1 elements contribute transcripts to the 6.5-kilobase cytoplasmic poly(A)+ RNA in NTera2D1 cells because no 2 of the 19 cDNAs analyzed had identical sequences. The transcribed elements appear to represent a subset of the total genomic L1s, a subset that has a characteristic consensus sequence in the 3' noncoding region and a high degree of sequence conservation throughout. Two open reading frames (ORFs) of 1,122 (ORF1) and 3,852 (ORF2) bases, flanked by about 800 and 200 bases of sequence at the 5' and 3' ends, respectively, can be identified in the cDNAs. Both ORFs are in the same frame, and they are separated by 33 bases bracketed by two conserved in-frame stop codons. ORF 2 is interrupted by at least one randomly positioned stop codon in the majority of the cDNAs. The data support proposals suggesting that the human L1 family includes one or more functional genes as well as an extraordinarily large number of pseudogenes whose ORFs are broken by stop codons. The cDNA structures suggest that both genes and pseudogenes are transcribed. At least one of the cDNAs (cD11), which was sequenced in its entirety, could, in principle, represent an mRNA for production of the ORF1 polypeptide. The similarity of mammalian L1s to several recently described invertebrate movable elements defines a new widely distributed class of elements which we term class II retrotransposons. Images PMID:2454389

piggyBac transposons expressing full-length human dystrophin enable genetic correction of dystrophic mesoangioblasts.

PubMed

Loperfido, Mariana; Jarmin, Susan; Dastidar, Sumitava; Di Matteo, Mario; Perini, Ilaria; Moore, Marc; Nair, Nisha; Samara-Kuko, Ermira; Athanasopoulos, Takis; Tedesco, Francesco Saverio; Dickson, George; Sampaolesi, Maurilio; VandenDriessche, Thierry; Chuah, Marinee K

2016-01-29

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic neuromuscular disorder caused by the absence of dystrophin. We developed a novel gene therapy approach based on the use of the piggyBac (PB) transposon system to deliver the coding DNA sequence (CDS) of either full-length human dystrophin (DYS: 11.1 kb) or truncated microdystrophins (MD1: 3.6 kb; MD2: 4 kb). PB transposons encoding microdystrophins were transfected in C2C12 myoblasts, yielding 65±2% MD1 and 66±2% MD2 expression in differentiated multinucleated myotubes. A hyperactive PB (hyPB) transposase was then deployed to enable transposition of the large-size PB transposon (17 kb) encoding the full-length DYS and green fluorescence protein (GFP). Stable GFP expression attaining 78±3% could be achieved in the C2C12 myoblasts that had undergone transposition. Western blot analysis demonstrated expression of the full-length human DYS protein in myotubes. Subsequently, dystrophic mesoangioblasts from a Golden Retriever muscular dystrophy dog were transfected with the large-size PB transposon resulting in 50±5% GFP-expressing cells after stable transposition. This was consistent with correction of the differentiated dystrophic mesoangioblasts following expression of full-length human DYS. These results pave the way toward a novel non-viral gene therapy approach for DMD using PB transposons underscoring their potential to deliver large therapeutic genes. © The Author(s) 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Viral Diseases in Zebrafish: What Is Known and Unknown

PubMed Central

Crim, Marcus J.; Riley, Lela K.

2013-01-01

Naturally occurring viral infections have the potential to introduce confounding variability that leads to invalid and misinterpreted data. Whereas the viral diseases of research rodents are well characterized and closely monitored, no naturally occurring viral infections have been characterized for the laboratory zebrafish (Danio rerio), an increasingly important biomedical research model. Despite the ignorance about naturally occurring zebrafish viruses, zebrafish models are rapidly expanding in areas of biomedical research where the confounding effects of unknown infectious agents present a serious concern. In addition, many zebrafish research colonies remain linked to the ornamental (pet) zebrafish trade, which can contribute to the introduction of new pathogens into research colonies, whereas mice used for research are purpose bred, with no introduction of new mice from the pet industry. Identification, characterization, and monitoring of naturally occurring viruses in zebrafish are crucial to the improvement of zebrafish health, the reduction of unwanted variability, and the continued development of the zebrafish as a model organism. This article addresses the importance of identifying and characterizing the viral diseases of zebrafish as the scope of zebrafish models expands into new research areas and also briefly addresses zebrafish susceptibility to experimental viral infection and the utility of the zebrafish as an infection and immunology model. PMID:23382345

Cloning of human cDNA encoding a novel heptahelix receptor expressed in Burkitt's lymphoma and widely distributed in brain and peripheral tissues.

PubMed

Owman, C; Blay, P; Nilsson, C; Lolait, S J

1996-11-12

Using PCR with degenerate primers and screening of a human B-cell lymphoblast cDNA library, a full-length cDNA encoding a 375-amino-acid protein was isolated. It contains seven regions of hydrophobic amino acids probably representing membrane-spanning domains of a novel heptahelix receptor, tentatively named CMKRL2. It shows nearly 30% overall identity with the high-affinity IL8 receptor and similar degree of homology with other chemoattractant receptors, including the "fusin" coreceptors for HIV1. Measurements of various transduction pathways following application of a panel of chemokines to transfected cells failed to evoke any reproducible response. Although the natural ligand for CMKRL2 could, thus, not be identified, receptor expression in spleen and lymph nodes as well as in Burkitt's lymphoma (irrespective of EBV status) supports a functional role in activated B-cells. Receptor message was ubiquitously distributed in normal peripheral tissues and CNS, suggesting that CMKRL2 is expressed in widespread cell populations, such as macrophages and neuroglia.

Separating full-length protein from aggregating proteolytic products using filter flow-through purification.

PubMed

Churion, Kelly A; Rogers, Robert E; Bayless, Kayla J; Bondos, Sarah E

2016-12-01

Separation of full-length protein from proteolytic products is challenging, since the properties used to isolate the protein can also be present in proteolytic products. Many separation techniques risk non-specific protein adhesion and/or require a lot of time, enabling continued proteolysis and aggregation after lysis. We demonstrate that proteolytic products aggregate for two different proteins. As a result, full-length protein can be rapidly separated from these fragments by filter flow-through purification, resulting in a substantial protein purity enhancement. This rapid approach is likely to be useful for intrinsically disordered proteins, whose repetitive sequence composition and flexible nature can facilitate aggregation. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Fish from Head to Tail: The 9th European Zebrafish Meeting in Oslo.

PubMed

Griffiths, Gareth; Müller, Ferenc; Ledin, Johan; Patton, E Elizabeth; Gjøen, Tor; Lobert, Viola Hélène; Winther-Larsen, Hanne Cecilie; Mullins, Mary; Joly, Jean-Stephane; Weltzien, Finn-Arne; Press, Charles McLean; Aleström, Peter

2016-04-01

The 9th European Zebrafish Meeting took place recently in Oslo (June 28-July 2, 2015). A total of 650 participants came to hear the latest research news focused on the zebrafish, Danio rerio, and to its distant evolutionary relative medaka, Oryzias latipes. The packed program included keynote and plenary talks, short oral presentations and poster sessions, workshops, and strategic discussions. The meeting was a great success and revealed dramatically how important the zebrafish in particular has become as a model system for topics, such as developmental biology, functional genomics, biomedicine, toxicology, and drug development. A new emphasis was given to its potential as a model for aquaculture, a topic of great economic interest to the host country Norway and for the future global food supply in general. Zebrafish husbandry as well as its use in teaching were also covered in separate workshops. As has become a tradition in these meetings, there was a well-attended Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and ZFIN workshop focused on Zebrafish Genome Resources on the first day. The full EZM 2015 program with abstracts can be read and downloaded from the EZM 2015 Web site zebrafish2015.org .

A new strategy for full-length Ebola virus glycoprotein expression in E.coli.

PubMed

Zai, Junjie; Yi, Yinhua; Xia, Han; Zhang, Bo; Yuan, Zhiming

2016-12-01

Ebola virus (EBOV) causes severe hemorrhagic fever in humans and non-human primates with high rates of fatality. Glycoprotein (GP) is the only envelope protein of EBOV, which may play a critical role in virus attachment and entry as well as stimulating host protective immune responses. However, the lack of expression of full-length GP in Escherichia coli hinders the further study of its function in viral pathogenesis. In this study, the vp40 gene was fused to the full-length gp gene and cloned into a prokaryotic expression vector. We showed that the VP40-GP and GP-VP40 fusion proteins could be expressed in E.coli at 16 °C. In addition, it was shown that the position of vp40 in the fusion proteins affected the yields of the fusion proteins, with a higher level of production of the fusion protein when vp40 was upstream of gp compared to when it was downstream. The results provide a strategy for the expression of a large quantity of EBOV full-length GP, which is of importance for further analyzing the relationship between the structure and function of GP and developing an antibody for the treatment of EBOV infection.

Multiple zebrafish atoh1 genes specify a diversity of neuronal types in the zebrafish cerebellum.

PubMed

Kidwell, Chelsea U; Su, Chen-Ying; Hibi, Masahiko; Moens, Cecilia B

2018-06-01

A single Atoh1 basic-helix-loop-helix transcription factor specifies multiple neuron types in the mammalian cerebellum and anterior hindbrain. The zebrafish genome encodes three paralagous atoh1 genes whose functions in cerebellum and anterior hindbrain development we explore here. With use of a transgenic reporter, we report that zebrafish atoh1c-expressing cells are organized in two distinct domains that are separated both by space and developmental time. An early isthmic expression domain gives rise to an extracerebellar population in rhombomere 1 and an upper rhombic lip domain gives rise to granule cell progenitors that migrate to populate all four granule cell territories of the fish cerebellum. Using genetic mutants we find that of the three zebrafish atoh1 paralogs, atoh1c and atoh1a are required for the full complement of granule neurons. Surprisingly, the two genes are expressed in non-overlapping granule cell progenitor populations, indicating that fish use duplicate atoh1 genes to generate granule cell diversity that is not detected in mammals. Finally, live imaging of granule cell migration in wildtype and atoh1c mutant embryos reveals that while atoh1c is not required for granule cell specification per se, it is required for granule cells to delaminate and migrate away from the rhombic lip. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Purification, cDNA cloning, and regulation of lysophospholipase from rat liver.

PubMed

Sugimoto, H; Hayashi, H; Yamashita, S

1996-03-29

A lysophospholipase was purified 506-fold from rat liver supernatant. The preparation gave a single 24-kDa protein band on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme hydrolyzed lysophosphatidylcholine, lysophosphatidylethanolamine, lysophosphatidylinositol, lysophosphatidylserine, and 1-oleoyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine at pH 6-8. The purified enzyme was used for the preparation of antibody and peptide sequencing. A cDNA clone was isolated by screening a rat liver lambda gt11 cDNA library with the antibody, followed by the selection of further extended clones from a lambda gt10 library. The isolated cDNA was 2,362 base pairs in length and contained an open reading frame encoding 230 amino acids with a Mr of 24,708. The peptide sequences determined were found in the reading frame. When the cDNA was expressed in Escherichia coli cells as the beta-galactosidase fusion, lysophosphatidylcholine-hydrolyzing activity was markedly increased. The deduced amino acid sequence showed significant similarity to Pseudomonas fluorescence esterase A and Spirulina platensis esterase. The three sequences contained the GXSXG consensus at similar positions. The transcript was found in various tissues with the following order of abundance: spleen, heart, kidney, brain, lung, stomach, and testis = liver. In contrast, the enzyme protein was abundant in the following order: testis, liver, kidney, heart, stomach, lung, brain, and spleen. Thus the mRNA abundance disagreed with the level of the enzyme protein in liver, testis, and spleen. When HL-60 cells were induced to differentiate into granulocytes with dimethyl sulfoxide, the 24-kDa lysophospholipase protein increased significantly, but the mRNA abundance remained essentially unchanged. Thus a posttranscriptional control mechanism is present for the regulation of 24-kDa lysophospholipase.

Zebrafish Melanoma.

PubMed

Kaufman, Charles K

2016-01-01

Melanoma skin cancer is a potentially deadly disease in humans and has remained extremely difficult to treat once it has metastasized. In just the last 10 years, a number of models of melanoma have been developed in the zebrafish that are biologically faithful to the human disease and have already yielded important insights into the fundamental biology of melanoma and offered new potential avenues for treatment. With the diversity and breadth of the molecular genetic tools available in the zebrafish, these melanoma models will continue to be refined and expanded upon to keep pace with the rapidly evolving field of melanoma biology.

Analysis of beta-carotene hydroxylase gene cDNA isolated from the American oil-palm (Elaeis oleifera) mesocarp tissue cDNA library

PubMed Central

Bhore, Subhash J; Kassim, Amelia; Loh, Chye Ying; Shah, Farida H

2010-01-01

It is well known that the nutritional quality of the American oil-palm (Elaeis oleifera) mesocarp oil is superior to that of African oil-palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq. Tenera) mesocarp oil. Therefore, it is of important to identify the genetic features for its superior value. This could be achieved through the genome sequencing of the oil-palm. However, the genome sequence is not available in the public domain due to commercial secrecy. Hence, we constructed a cDNA library and generated expressed sequence tags (3,205) from the mesocarp tissue of the American oil-palm. We continued to annotate each of these cDNAs after submitting to GenBank/DDBJ/EMBL. A rough analysis turned our attention to the beta-carotene hydroxylase (Chyb) enzyme encoding cDNA. Then, we completed the full sequencing of cDNA clone for its both strands using M13 forward and reverse primers. The full nucleotide and protein sequence was further analyzed and annotated using various Bioinformatics tools. The analysis results showed the presence of fatty acid hydroxylase superfamily domain in the protein sequence. The multiple sequence alignment of selected Chyb amino acid sequences from other plant species and algal members with E. oleifera Chyb using ClustalW and its phylogenetic analysis suggest that Chyb from monocotyledonous plant species, Lilium hubrid, Crocus sativus and Zea mays are the most evolutionary related with E. oleifera Chyb. This study reports the annotation of E. oleifera Chyb. Abbreviations ESTs - expressed sequence tags, EoChyb - Elaeis oleifera beta-carotene hydroxylase, MC - main cluster PMID:21364789

Polygenic Sex Determination System in Zebrafish

PubMed Central

Liew, Woei Chang; Bartfai, Richard; Lim, Zijie; Sreenivasan, Rajini; Siegfried, Kellee R.; Orban, Laszlo

2012-01-01

Background Despite the popularity of zebrafish as a research model, its sex determination (SD) mechanism is still unknown. Most cytogenetic studies failed to find dimorphic sex chromosomes and no primary sex determining switch has been identified even though the assembly of zebrafish genome sequence is near to completion and a high resolution genetic map is available. Recent publications suggest that environmental factors within the natural range have minimal impact on sex ratios of zebrafish populations. The primary aim of this study is to find out more about how sex is determined in zebrafish. Methodology/Principal Findings Using classical breeding experiments, we found that sex ratios across families were wide ranging (4.8% to 97.3% males). On the other hand, repeated single pair crossings produced broods of very similar sex ratios, indicating that parental genotypes have a role in the sex ratio of the offspring. Variation among family sex ratios was reduced after selection for breeding pairs with predominantly male or female offspring, another indication that zebrafish sex is regulated genetically. Further examinations by a PCR-based “blind assay" and array comparative genomic hybridization both failed to find universal sex-linked differences between the male and female genomes. Together with the ability to increase the sex bias of lines by selective breeding, these data suggest that zebrafish is unlikely to utilize a chromosomal sex determination (CSD) system. Conclusions/Significance Taken together, our study suggests that zebrafish sex is genetically determined with limited, secondary influences from the environment. As we have not found any sign for CSD in the species, we propose that the zebrafish has a polygenic sex determination system. PMID:22506019

What is the Thalamus in Zebrafish?

PubMed Central

Mueller, Thomas

2012-01-01

Current research on the thalamus and related structures in the zebrafish diencephalon identifies an increasing number of both neurological structures and ontogenetic processes as evolutionary conserved between teleosts and mammals. The patterning processes, for example, which during the embryonic development of zebrafish form the thalamus proper appear largely conserved. Yet also striking differences between zebrafish and other vertebrates have been observed, particularly when we look at mature and histologically differentiated brains. A case in point is the migrated preglomerular complex of zebrafish which evolved only within the lineage of ray-finned fish and has no counterpart in mammals or tetrapod vertebrates. Based on its function as a sensory relay station with projections to pallial zones, the preglomerular complex has been compared to specific thalamic nuclei in mammals. However, no thalamic projections to the zebrafish dorsal pallium, which corresponds topologically to the mammalian isocortex, have been identified. Merely one teleostean thalamic nucleus proper, the auditory nucleus, projects to a part of the dorsal telencephalon, the pallial amygdala. Studies on patterning mechanisms identify a rostral and caudal domain in the embryonic thalamus proper. In both, teleosts and mammals, the rostral domain gives rise to GABAergic neurons, whereas glutamatergic neurons originate in the caudal domain of the zebrafish thalamus. The distribution of GABAergic derivatives in the adult zebrafish brain, furthermore, revealed previously overlooked thalamic nuclei and redefined already established ones. These findings require some reconsideration regarding the topological origin of these adult structures. In what follows, I discuss how evolutionary conserved and newly acquired features of the developing and adult zebrafish thalamus can be compared to the mammalian situation. PMID:22586363

Time-dependent inhibitory effects of Tris(1, 3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate on growth and transcription of genes involved in the GH/IGF axis, but not the HPT axis, in female zebrafish.

PubMed

Zhu, Ya; Su, Guanyong; Yang, Dandong; Zhang, Yongkang; Yu, Liqin; Li, Yufei; Giesy, John P; Letcher, Robert J; Liu, Chunsheng

2017-10-01

Growth curves were used to determine sensitive exposure windows for evaluation of developmental toxicity of chemicals to zebrafish. Dose- and time-dependent effects on body mass, body length and expression of genes involved in the growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor (GH/IGF) axis and the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis were examined after exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCIPP). Based on growth curves, zebrafish grew most rapidly between 60 and 90 days post fertilization (dpf). Exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of TDCIPP significantly decreased body mass and body length and down-regulated expression of several genes involved in the GH/IGF axis of female zebrafish, but no such effects were observed in male zebrafish. Exposure to TDCIPP did not change concentrations of thyroid hormones or expression of genes along the HPT axis in female and male zebrafish. These results suggest that growth stages of zebrafish between 60 and 90 dpf might be most appropriate for evaluation of developmental toxicity of chemicals, and down-regulation of genes involved in the GH/IGF axis, but not the HPT axis, might be responsible for the observed growth inhibition in females exposed to TDCIPP. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Application of Zebrafish Model to Environmental Toxicology.

PubMed

Komoike, Yuta; Matsuoka, Masato

2016-01-01

Recently, a tropical freshwater fish, the zebrafish, has been generally used as a useful model organism in various fields of life science worldwide. The zebrafish model has also been applied to environmental toxicology; however, in Japan, it has not yet become widely used. In this review, we will introduce the biological and historical backgrounds of zebrafish as an animal model and their breeding. We then present the current status of toxicological experiments using zebrafish that were treated with some important environmental contaminants, including cadmium, organic mercury, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, and tributyltin. Finally, the future possible application of genetically modified zebrafish to the study of environmental toxicology is discussed.

Collagen IX is required for the integrity of collagen II fibrils and the regulation of vascular plexus formation in Zebrafish caudal fins

PubMed Central

Huang, Cheng-chen; Wang, Tai-Chuan; Lin, Bo-Hung; Wang, Yi-Wen; Johnson, Stephen L.; Yu, John

2013-01-01

Capillary plexuses form during both vasculogenesis and angiogenesis and are remodeled into mature vessel types and patterns which are delicately orchestrated with the sizes and shapes of other tissues and organs. We isolated a zebrafish mutation named prp (for persistent plexus) that causes persistent formation of vascular plexuses in the caudal fins and consequent mispatterning of bony fin rays and the fin shape. Detailed analyses revealed that the prp mutation causes a significant reduction in the size and dramatic structural defects in collagen II-rich extracellular matrices called actinotrichia of both embryonic finfolds and adult fins. prp was mapped to chromosome 19 and found to encode the zebrafish collagen9α1 (col9α1) gene which is abundantly expressed in developing finfolds. A point mutation resulting in a leucine-to-histidine change was detected in the thrombospondin domain of the col9α1 gene in prp. Morpholino-mediated knockdown of col9α1 phenocopied the prp small-finfold phenotype in wild-type embryos, and an injection of plasmids containing the col9α1 cDNA into prp embryos locally restored the finfold size. Furthermore, we found that osteoblasts in prp mutants were mispatterned apparently following the abnormal vascular plexus pattern, demonstrating that blood vessels play an important role in the patterning of bony rays in zebrafish caudal fins. PMID:19501583

Collagen IX is required for the integrity of collagen II fibrils and the regulation of vascular plexus formation in zebrafish caudal fins.

PubMed

Huang, Cheng-chen; Wang, Tai-Chuan; Lin, Bo-Hung; Wang, Yi-Wen; Johnson, Stephen L; Yu, John

2009-08-15

Capillary plexuses form during both vasculogenesis and angiogenesis and are remodeled into mature vessel types and patterns which are delicately orchestrated with the sizes and shapes of other tissues and organs. We isolated a zebrafish mutation named prp (for persistent plexus) that causes persistent formation of vascular plexuses in the caudal fins and consequent mispatterning of bony fin rays and the fin shape. Detailed analyses revealed that the prp mutation causes a significant reduction in the size and dramatic structural defects in collagen II-rich extracellular matrices called actinotrichia of both embryonic finfolds and adult fins. prp was mapped to chromosome 19 and found to encode the zebrafish collagen9alpha1 (col9alpha1) gene which is abundantly expressed in developing finfolds. A point mutation resulting in a leucine-to-histidine change was detected in the thrombospondin domain of the col9alpha1 gene in prp. Morpholino-mediated knockdown of col9alpha1 phenocopied the prp small-finfold phenotype in wild-type embryos, and an injection of plasmids containing the col9alpha1 cDNA into prp embryos locally restored the finfold size. Furthermore, we found that osteoblasts in prp mutants were mispatterned apparently following the abnormal vascular plexus pattern, demonstrating that blood vessels play an important role in the patterning of bony rays in zebrafish caudal fins.

Distinct spatiotemporal accumulation of N-truncated and full-length amyloid-β42 in Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Shinohara, Mitsuru; Koga, Shunsuke; Konno, Takuya; Nix, Jeremy; Shinohara, Motoko; Aoki, Naoya; Das, Pritam; Parisi, Joseph E; Petersen, Ronald C; Rosenberry, Terrone L; Dickson, Dennis W; Bu, Guojun

2017-12-01

Accumulation of amyloid-β peptides is a dominant feature in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease; however, it is not clear how individual amyloid-β species accumulate and affect other neuropathological and clinical features in the disease. Thus, we compared the accumulation of N-terminally truncated amyloid-β and full-length amyloid-β, depending on disease stage as well as brain area, and determined how these amyloid-β species respectively correlate with clinicopathological features of Alzheimer's disease. To this end, the amounts of amyloid-β species and other proteins related to amyloid-β metabolism or Alzheimer's disease were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) or theoretically calculated in 12 brain regions, including neocortical, limbic and subcortical areas from Alzheimer's disease cases (n = 19), neurologically normal elderly without amyloid-β accumulation (normal ageing, n = 13), and neurologically normal elderly with cortical amyloid-β accumulation (pathological ageing, n = 15). We observed that N-terminally truncated amyloid-β42 and full-length amyloid-β42 accumulations distributed differently across disease stages and brain areas, while N-terminally truncated amyloid-β40 and full-length amyloid-β40 accumulation showed an almost identical distribution pattern. Cortical N-terminally truncated amyloid-β42 accumulation was increased in Alzheimer's disease compared to pathological ageing, whereas cortical full-length amyloid-β42 accumulation was comparable between Alzheimer's disease and pathological ageing. Moreover, N-terminally truncated amyloid-β42 were more likely to accumulate more in specific brain areas, especially some limbic areas, while full-length amyloid-β42 tended to accumulate more in several neocortical areas, including frontal cortices. Immunoprecipitation followed by mass spectrometry analysis showed that several N-terminally truncated amyloid-β42 species, represented by pyroglutamylated amyloid-β11

A Linkage Map of the Asian Tiger Mosquito (Aedes albopictus) Based on cDNA Markers

PubMed Central

Sutherland, Ian W.; Mori, Akio; Montgomery, John; Fleming, Karen L.; Anderson, Jennifer M.; Valenzuela, Jesus G.; Severson, David W.

2011-01-01

The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse), is an important vector of a number of arboviruses, and populations exhibit extreme variation in adaptive traits such as egg diapause, cold hardiness, and autogeny (ability to mature a batch of eggs without blood feeding). The genetic basis of some of these traits has been established, but lack of a high-resolution linkage map has prevented in-depth genetic analyses of the genes underlying these complex traits. We report here on the breeding of 4 F1 intercross mapping families and the use of these to locate 35 cDNA markers to the A. albopictus linkage map. The present study increases the number of markers on the A. albopictus cDNA linkage map from 38 to 73 and the density of markers from 1 marker/5.7 cM to 1 marker/2.9 cM and adds 9, 16, and 10 markers to the 3 linkage groups, respectively. The overall lengths of the 3 linkage groups are 64.5, 76.5, and 71.6 cM, respectively, for a combined length of 212.6 cM. Despite conservation in the order of most genes among the 4 families and a previous mapping family, we found substantial heterogeneity in the amount of recombination among markers. This was most marked in linkage group I, which varied between 16.7 and 69.3 cM. A map integrating the results from these 4 families with an earlier cDNA linkage map is presented. PMID:21148282

Informatic and genomic analysis of melanocyte cDNA libraries as a resource for the study of melanocyte development and function.

PubMed

Baxter, Laura L; Hsu, Benjamin J; Umayam, Lowell; Wolfsberg, Tyra G; Larson, Denise M; Frith, Martin C; Kawai, Jun; Hayashizaki, Yoshihide; Carninci, Piero; Pavan, William J

2007-06-01

As part of the RIKEN mouse encyclopedia project, two cDNA libraries were prepared from melanocyte-derived cell lines, using techniques of full-length clone selection and subtraction/normalization to enrich for rare transcripts. End sequencing showed that these libraries display over 83% complete coding sequence at the 5' end and 96-97% complete coding sequence at the 3' end. Evaluation of the libraries, derived from B16F10Y tumor cells and melan-c cells, revealed that they contain clones for a majority of the genes previously demonstrated to function in melanocyte biology. Analysis of genomic locations for transcripts revealed that the distribution of melanocyte genes is non-random throughout the genome. Three genomic regions identified that showed significant clustering of melanocyte-expressed genes contain one or more genes previously shown to regulate melanocyte development or function. A catalog of genes expressed in these libraries is presented, providing a valuable resource of cDNA clones and sequence information that can be used for identification of new genes important for melanocyte development, function, and disease.

Cloning and identification of a cDNA that encodes a novel human protein with thrombospondin type I repeat domain, hPWTSR.

PubMed

Chen, Jin-Zhong; Wang, Shu; Tang, Rong; Yang, Quan-Sheng; Zhao, Enpeng; Chao, Yaoqiong; Ying, Kang; Xie, Yi; Mao, Yu-Min

2002-09-01

A cDNA was isolated from the fetal brain cDNA library by high throughput cDNA sequencing. The 2390 bp cDNA with an open reading fragment (ORF) of 816 bp encodes a 272 amino acids putative protein with a thrombospondin type I repeat (TSR) domain and a cysteine-rich region at the N-terminus, so it is named hPWTSR. We used Northern blot detected two bands with length of about 3 kb and 4 kb respectively, which expressed in human adult tissues with different intensities. The expression pattern was verified by RT-PCR, revealing that the transcripts were expressed ubiquitously in fetal tissues and human tumor tissues too. However, the transcript was detected neither in ovarian carcinoma GI-102 nor in lung carcinoma LX-1. Blast analysis against NCBI database revealed that the new gene contained at least 5 exons and located in human chromosome 6q22.33. Our results demonstrate that the gene is a novel member of TSR supergene family.

Advancing biology through a deeper understanding of zebrafish ecology and evolution.

PubMed

Parichy, David M

2015-03-25

Over the last two decades, the zebrafish has joined the ranks of premier model organisms for biomedical research, with a full suite of tools and genomic resources. Yet we still know comparatively little about its natural history. Here I review what is known about the natural history of the zebrafish, where significant gaps in our knowledge remain, and how a fuller appreciation of this organism's ecology and behavior, population genetics, and phylogeny can inform a variety of research endeavors.

Resveratrol ameliorates diet-induced dysregulation of lipid metabolism in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

PubMed Central

Li, Lin; Yan, Qiaoqiao; Yi, Weijie; Ying, Chenjiang; Wu, Hongmei

2017-01-01

Defective lipid metabolism is associated with increased risk of various chronic diseases, such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes. Resveratrol (RSV), a natural polyphenol, has been shown the potential of ameliorating disregulations of lipid metabolism. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of feed intake and RSV on lipid metabolism in zebrafish (Danio rerio). The adult males were randomly allocated to 6 groups: control (Con, 8 mg cysts/fish/day), control with 20 μmol/L RSV (Con+RSV), calorie restriction (CR, 5 mg cysts/fish/day), calorie restriction with RSV (CR+RSV), overfeed (OF, 60 mg cysts/fish/day), and overfeed with RSV (OF+RSV) groups. The treatment period was 8 weeks. Results showed that CR reduced body length, body weight, and condition factor of zebrafish. CR reduced levels of plasma triglyceride (TG) and induced protein expression of phosphorylated AMP-activated protein kinase-α (pAMPKα), silent information regulator 2 homolog 1 (Sirt1), and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma coactivator-1α (PGC1α). RSV attenuated CR-induced pAMPKα/AMPKαincreases. RSV increased levels of Sirt1 protein in the OF zebrafish, and decreased OF-induced increase in peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) protein level. Additionally, RSV down-regulated caveolin-1 and up-regulated microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 -II (LC3-II) protein levels in OF zebrafish. In conclusion, these results suggest that 1) CR reduces plasma TG level through activation of the AMPKα-Sirt1- PGC1α pathway; 2) under different dietary stress conditions RSV might regulate AMPK phosphorylation bi-directionally; 3) RSV might regulate lipid metabolism through the AMPKα-Sirt1-PPARγ pathway in OF zebrafish. PMID:28686680

Trimethyltin chloride inhibits neuronal cell differentiation in zebrafish embryo neurodevelopment.

PubMed

Kim, Jin; Kim, C-Yoon; Song, Juha; Oh, Hanseul; Kim, Cheol-Hee; Park, Jae-Hak

2016-01-01

Trimethyltin chloride (TMT) is a neurotoxicant widely present in the aquatic environment, primarily from effluents of the plastic industry. It is known to cause acute neuronal death in the limbic-cerebellar system, particularly in the hippocampus. However, relatively few studies have estimated the effects of TMT toxicity on neurodevelopment. In this study, we confirmed the dose-dependent effects of TMT on neurodevelopmental stages through analysis of morphological changes and fluorescence assays using HuC-GFP and olig2-dsRed transgenic zebrafish embryos. In addition, we analyzed the expression of genes and proteins related to neurodevelopment. Exposure of embryos to TMT for 4 days post fertilization (dpf) elicited a concentration-related decrease in body length and increase in axial malformation. TMT affected the fluorescent CNS structure by decreasing pattern of HuC-GFP and olig2-dsRed transgenic zebrafish. In addition, it significantly modulated the expression patterns of Sonic hedgehog a (Shha), Neurogenin1 (Ngn1), Embryonic lethal abnormal vision like protein 3 (Elavl3), and Glial fibrillary acidic protein (Gfap). The overexpression of Shha and Ngn1, and downregulation of Elavl3 and Gfap, indicate repression of proneural cell differentiation. Our study demonstrates that TMT inhibits specific neurodevelopmental stages in zebrafish embryos and suggests a possible mechanism for the toxicity of TMT in vertebrate neurodevelopment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Structure of the full-length glucagon class B G protein-coupled receptor

PubMed Central

Zhang, Haonan; Qiao, Anna; Yang, Dehua; Yang, Linlin; Dai, Antao; de Graaf, Chris; Reedtz-Runge, Steffen; Dharmarajan, Venkatasubramanian; Zhang, Hui; Han, Gye Won; Grant, Thomas D.; Sierra, Raymond G.; Weierstall, Uwe; Nelson, Garrett; Liu, Wei; Wu, Yanhong; Ma, Limin; Cai, Xiaoqing; Lin, Guangyao; Wu, Xiaoai; Geng, Zhi; Dong, Yuhui; Song, Gaojie; Griffin, Patrick R.; Lau, Jesper; Cherezov, Vadim; Yang, Huaiyu; Hanson, Michael A.; Stevens, Raymond C.; Zhao, Qiang; Jiang, Hualiang; Wang, Ming-Wei; Wu, Beili

2017-01-01

The human glucagon receptor (GCGR) belongs to the class B G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family and plays a key role in glucose homeostasis and the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes. Here we report the 3.0 Å crystal structure of full-length GCGR containing both extracellular domain (ECD) and transmembrane domain (TMD) in an inactive conformation. The two domains are connected by a 12-residue segment termed the ‘stalk’, which adopts a β-strand conformation, instead of forming an α-helix as observed in the previously solved structure of GCGR-TMD. The first extracellular loop (ECL1) exhibits a β-hairpin conformation and interacts with the stalk to form a compact β-sheet structure. Hydrogen/deuterium exchange, disulfide cross-linking and molecular dynamics studies suggest that the stalk and ECL1 play critical roles in modulating peptide ligand binding and receptor activation. These insights into the full-length GCGR structure deepen our understanding about the signaling mechanisms of class B GPCRs. PMID:28514451

Characterization of a human MSX-2 cDNA and its fragment isolated as a transformation suppressor gene against v-Ki-ras oncogene.

PubMed

Takahashi, C; Akiyama, N; Matsuzaki, T; Takai, S; Kitayama, H; Noda, M

1996-05-16

A cDNA (termed CT124) encoding a carboxyl-terminal fragment of the human homeobox protein MSX-2 was found to induce flat reversion when expressed in v-Ki-ras-transformed NIH3T3 cells. Although the expression of endogenous MSX-2 gene is low in most of the normal adult tissues examined, it is frequently activated in carcinoma-derived cell lines. Likewise, the gene is inactive in NIH3T3 cells but is transcriptionally activated after transformation by v-Ki-ras oncogene, suggesting that the intact MSX-2 may play a positive, rather than suppressive, role in cell transformation. To test this possibility, we isolated a near full-length human MSX-2 cDNA and tested its activities in two cell systems, i.e. fibroblast and myoblast. In NIH3T3 fibroblasts, although the gene by itself failed to confer a transformed phenotype, antisense MSX-2 cDNA as well as truncated CT124 cDNA interfered with the transforming activities of v-Ki-ras oncogene. In C2C12 myoblasts, MSX-2 was found to suppress MyoD gene expression, as do activated ras oncogenes, under certain culture conditions, and CT124 was found to inhibit the activities of both MSX-2 and ras in this system as well. Our findings not only suggest that CT124 may act as a dominant suppressor of MSX-2 but also raise the possibility that MSX-2 gene may be an important downstream target for the Ras signaling pathways.

A Possible Role of the Full-Length Nascent Protein in Post-Translational Ribosome Recycling.

PubMed

Das, Debasis; Samanta, Dibyendu; Bhattacharya, Arpita; Basu, Arunima; Das, Anindita; Ghosh, Jaydip; Chakrabarti, Abhijit; Das Gupta, Chanchal

2017-01-01

Each cycle of translation initiation in bacterial cell requires free 50S and 30S ribosomal subunits originating from the post-translational dissociation of 70S ribosome from the previous cycle. Literature shows stable dissociation of 70S from model post-termination complexes by the concerted action of Ribosome Recycling Factor (RRF) and Elongation Factor G (EF-G) that interact with the rRNA bridge B2a/B2b joining 50S to 30S. In such experimental models, the role of full-length nascent protein was never considered seriously. We observed relatively slow release of full-length nascent protein from 50Sof post translation ribosome, and in that process, its toe prints on the rRNA in vivo and in in vitro translation with E.coli S30 extract. We reported earlier that a number of chemically unfolded proteins like bovine carbonic anhydrase (BCA), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), lysozyme, ovalbumin etc., when added to free 70Sin lieu of the full length nascent proteins, also interact with identical RNA regions of the 23S rRNA. Interestingly the rRNA nucleotides that slow down release of the C-terminus of full-length unfolded protein were found in close proximity to the B2a/B2b bridge. It indicated a potentially important chemical reaction conserved throughout the evolution. Here we set out to probe that conserved role of unfolded protein conformation in splitting the free or post-termination 70S. How both the RRF-EFG dependent and the plausible nascent protein-EFG dependent ribosome recycling pathways might be relevant in bacteria is discussed here.

A Possible Role of the Full-Length Nascent Protein in Post-Translational Ribosome Recycling

PubMed Central

Das, Debasis; Samanta, Dibyendu; Bhattacharya, Arpita; Basu, Arunima; Das, Anindita; Ghosh, Jaydip; Chakrabarti, Abhijit; Das Gupta, Chanchal

2017-01-01

Each cycle of translation initiation in bacterial cell requires free 50S and 30S ribosomal subunits originating from the post-translational dissociation of 70S ribosome from the previous cycle. Literature shows stable dissociation of 70S from model post-termination complexes by the concerted action of Ribosome Recycling Factor (RRF) and Elongation Factor G (EF-G) that interact with the rRNA bridge B2a/B2b joining 50S to 30S. In such experimental models, the role of full-length nascent protein was never considered seriously. We observed relatively slow release of full-length nascent protein from 50Sof post translation ribosome, and in that process, its toe prints on the rRNA in vivo and in in vitro translation with E.coli S30 extract. We reported earlier that a number of chemically unfolded proteins like bovine carbonic anhydrase (BCA), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), lysozyme, ovalbumin etc., when added to free 70Sin lieu of the full length nascent proteins, also interact with identical RNA regions of the 23S rRNA. Interestingly the rRNA nucleotides that slow down release of the C-terminus of full-length unfolded protein were found in close proximity to the B2a/B2b bridge. It indicated a potentially important chemical reaction conserved throughout the evolution. Here we set out to probe that conserved role of unfolded protein conformation in splitting the free or post-termination 70S. How both the RRF-EFG dependent and the plausible nascent protein–EFG dependent ribosome recycling pathways might be relevant in bacteria is discussed here. PMID:28099529

The importance of Zebrafish in biomedical research.

PubMed

Tavares, Bárbara; Santos Lopes, Susana

2013-01-01

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) is an ideal model organism for the study of vertebrate development. This is due to the large clutches that each couple produces, with up to 200 embryos every 7 days, and to the fact that the embryos and larvae are small, transparent and undergo rapid external development. Using scientific literature research tools available online and the keywords Zebrafish, biomedical research, human disease, and drug screening, we reviewed original studies and reviews indexed in PubMed. In this review we summarized work conducted with this model for the advancement of our knowledge related to several human diseases. We also focused on the biomedical research being performed in Portugal with the zebrafish model. Powerful live imaging and genetic tools are currently available for zebrafish making it a valuable model in biomedical research. The combination of these properties with the optimization of automated systems for drug screening has transformed the zebrafish into "a top model" in biomedical research, drug discovery and toxicity testing. Furthermore, with the optimization of xenografts technology it will be possible to use zebrafish to aide in the choice of the best therapy for each patient. Zebrafish is an excellent model organism in biomedical research, drug development and in clinical therapy.

Perturbation of cytosolic calcium by 2-aminoethoxydiphenyl borate and caffeine affects zebrafish myofibril alignment.

PubMed

Wu, Hsin-Ju; Fong, Tsorng-Harn; Chen, Shen-Liang; Wei, Jen-Cheng; Wang, I-Jong; Wen, Chi-Chung; Chang, Chao-Yuan; Chen, Xing-Guang; Chen, Wei-Yu; Chen, Hui-Min; Horng, Juin-Lin; Wang, Yun-Hsin; Chen, Yau-Hung

2015-03-01

The objective of the current study was to investigate the effects of Ca(2+) levels on myofibril alignment during zebrafish embryogenesis. To investigate how altered cytoplasmic Ca(2+) levels affect myofibril alignment, we exposed zebrafish embryos to 2-aminothoxyldiphenyl borate (2-APB; an inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor inhibitor that reduces cytosolic Ca(2+) levels) and caffeine (a ryanodine receptor activator that enhances cytosolic Ca(2+) levels). The results demonstrated that the most evident changes in zebrafish embryos treated with 2-APB were shorter body length, curved trunk and malformed somite boundary. In contrast, such malformed phenotypes were evident neither in untreated controls nor in caffeine-treated embryos. Subtle morphological changes, including changes in muscle fibers, F-actin and ultrastructures were easily observed by staining with specific monoclonal antibodies (F59 and α-laminin), fluorescent probes (phalloidin) and by transmission electron microscopy. Our data suggested that: (1) the exposure to 2-APB and/or caffeine led to myofibril misalignment; (2) 2-APB-treated embryos displayed split and short myofibril phenotypes, whereas muscle fibers from caffeine-treated embryos were twisted and wavy; and (3) zebrafish embryos co-exposed to 2-APB and caffeine resulted in normal myofibril alignment. In conclusion, we proposed that cytosolic Ca(2+) is important for myogenesis, particularly for myofibril alignment. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Method for construction of normalized cDNA libraries

DOEpatents

Soares, Marcelo B.; Efstratiadis, Argiris

1998-01-01

This invention provides a method to normalize a directional cDNA library constructed in a vector that allows propagation in single-stranded circle form comprising: (a) propagating the directional cDNA library in single-stranded circles; (b) generating fragments complementary to the 3' noncoding sequence of the single-stranded circles in the library to produce partial duplexes; (c) purifying the partial duplexes; (d) melting and reassociating the purified partial duplexes to appropriate Cot; and (e) purifying the unassociated single-stranded circles, thereby generating a normalized cDNA library. This invention also provides normalized cDNA libraries generated by the above-described method and uses of the generated libraries.

Method for construction of normalized cDNA libraries

DOEpatents

Soares, M.B.; Efstratiadis, A.

1998-11-03

This invention provides a method to normalize a directional cDNA library constructed in a vector that allows propagation in single-stranded circle form comprising: (a) propagating the directional cDNA library in single-stranded circles; (b) generating fragments complementary to the 3` noncoding sequence of the single-stranded circles in the library to produce partial duplexes; (c) purifying the partial duplexes; (d) melting and reassociating the purified partial duplexes to appropriate Cot; and (e) purifying the unassociated single-stranded circles, thereby generating a normalized cDNA library. This invention also provides normalized cDNA libraries generated by the above-described method and uses of the generated libraries. 19 figs.

Zebrafish neurobehavioral phenomics for aquatic neuropharmacology and toxicology research.

PubMed

Kalueff, Allan V; Echevarria, David J; Homechaudhuri, Sumit; Stewart, Adam Michael; Collier, Adam D; Kaluyeva, Aleksandra A; Li, Shaomin; Liu, Yingcong; Chen, Peirong; Wang, JiaJia; Yang, Lei; Mitra, Anisa; Pal, Subharthi; Chaudhuri, Adwitiya; Roy, Anwesha; Biswas, Missidona; Roy, Dola; Podder, Anupam; Poudel, Manoj K; Katare, Deepshikha P; Mani, Ruchi J; Kyzar, Evan J; Gaikwad, Siddharth; Nguyen, Michael; Song, Cai

2016-01-01

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are rapidly emerging as an important model organism for aquatic neuropharmacology and toxicology research. The behavioral/phenotypic complexity of zebrafish allows for thorough dissection of complex human brain disorders and drug-evoked pathological states. As numerous zebrafish models become available with a wide spectrum of behavioral, genetic, and environmental methods to test novel drugs, here we discuss recent zebrafish phenomics methods to facilitate drug discovery, particularly in the field of biological psychiatry. Additionally, behavioral, neurological, and endocrine endpoints are becoming increasingly well-characterized in zebrafish, making them an inexpensive, robust and effective model for toxicology research and pharmacological screening. We also discuss zebrafish behavioral phenotypes, experimental considerations, pharmacological candidates and relevance of zebrafish neurophenomics to other 'omics' (e.g., genomic, proteomic) approaches. Finally, we critically evaluate the limitations of utilizing this model organism, and outline future strategies of research in the field of zebrafish phenomics. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Mixtures, Metabolites, and Mechanisms: Understanding Toxicology Using Zebrafish.

PubMed

Gamse, Joshua T; Gorelick, Daniel A

2016-10-01

For more than 60 years, zebrafish have been used in toxicological studies. Due to their transparency, genetic tractability, and compatibility with high-throughput screens, zebrafish embryos are uniquely suited to study the effects of pharmaceuticals and environmental insults on embryonic development, organ formation and function, and reproductive success. This special issue of Zebrafish highlights the ways zebrafish are used to investigate the toxic effects of endocrine disruptors, pesticides, and heavy metals.

Anchoring a Defined Sequence to the 55' Ends of mRNAs : The Bolt to Clone Rare Full Length mRNAs and Generate cDNA Libraries porn a Few Cells.

PubMed

Baptiste, J; Milne Edwards, D; Delort, J; Mallet, J

1993-01-01

Among numerous applications, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (1,2) provides a convenient means to clone 5' ends of rare mRNAs and to generate cDNA libraries from tissue available in amounts too low to be processed by conventional methods. Basically, the amplification of cDNAs by the PCR requires the availability of the sequences of two stretches of the molecule to be amplified. A sequence can easily be imposed at the 5' end of the first-strand cDNAs (corresponding to the 3' end of the mRNAs) by priming the reverse transcription with a specific primer (for cloning the 5' end of rare messenger) or with an oligonucleotide tailored with a poly (dT) stretch (for cDNA library construction), taking advantage of the poly (A) sequence that is located at the 3' end of mRNAs. Several strategies have been devised to tag the 3' end of the ss-cDNAs (corresponding to the 55' end of the mRNAs). We (3) and others have described strategies based on the addition of a homopolymeric dG (4,5) or dA (6,7) tail using terminal deoxyribonucleotide transferase (TdT) ("anchor-PCR" [4]). However, this strategy has important limitations. The TdT reaction is difficult to control and has a low efficiency (unpublished observations). But most importantly, the return primers containing a homopolymeric (dC or dT) tail generate nonspecific amplifications, a phenomenon that prevents the isolation of low abundance mRNA species and/or interferes with the relative abundance of primary clones in the library. To circumvent these drawbacks, we have used two approaches. First, we devised a strategy based on a cRNA enrichment procedure, which has been useful to eliminate nonspecific-PCR products and to allow detection and cloning of cDNAs of low abundance (3). More recently, to avoid the nonspecific amplification resulting from the annealing of the homopolymeric tail oligonucleotide, we have developed a novel anchoring strategy that is based on the ligation of an oligonucleotide to the 35' end of ss

Mycobacteriosis in zebrafish colonies.

PubMed

Whipps, Christopher M; Lieggi, Christine; Wagner, Robert

2012-01-01

Mycobacteriosis, a chronic bacterial infection, has been associated with severe losses in some zebrafish facilities and low-level mortalities and unknown impacts in others. The occurrence of at least six different described species (Mycobacterium abscessus, M. chelonae, M. fortuitum, M. haemophilum, M. marinum, M. peregrinum) from zebrafish complicates diagnosis and control because each species is unique. As a generalization, mycobacteria are often considered opportunists, but M. haemophilum and M. marinum appear to be more virulent. Background genetics of zebrafish and environmental conditions influence the susceptibility of fish and progression of disease, emphasizing the importance of regular monitoring and good husbandry practices. A combined approach to diagnostics is ultimately the most informative, with histology as a first-level screen, polymerase chain reaction for rapid detection and species identification, and culture for strain differentiation. Occurrence of identical strains of Mycobacterium in both fish and biofilms in zebrafish systems suggests transmission can occur when fish feed on infected tissues or tank detritus containing mycobacteria. Within a facility, good husbandry practices and sentinel programs are essential for minimizing the impacts of mycobacteria. In addition, quarantine and screening of animals coming into a facility is important for eliminating the introduction of the more severe pathogens. Elimination of mycobacteria from an aquatic system is likely not feasible because these species readily establish biofilms on surfaces even in extremely low nutrient conditions. Risks associated with each commonly encountered species need to be identified and informed management plans developed. Basic research on the growth characteristics, disinfection, and pathogenesis of zebrafish mycobacteria is critical moving forward.

Episodic-like memory in zebrafish.

PubMed

Hamilton, Trevor J; Myggland, Allison; Duperreault, Erika; May, Zacnicte; Gallup, Joshua; Powell, Russell A; Schalomon, Melike; Digweed, Shannon M

2016-11-01

Episodic-like memory tests often aid in determining an animal's ability to recall the what, where, and which (context) of an event. To date, this type of memory has been demonstrated in humans, wild chacma baboons, corvids (Scrub jays), humming birds, mice, rats, Yucatan minipigs, and cuttlefish. The potential for this type of memory in zebrafish remains unexplored even though they are quickly becoming an essential model organism for the study of a variety of human cognitive and mental disorders. Here we explore the episodic-like capabilities of zebrafish (Danio rerio) in a previously established mammalian memory paradigm. We demonstrate that when zebrafish were presented with a familiar object in a familiar context but a novel location within that context, they spend more time in the novel quadrant. Thus, zebrafish display episodic-like memory as they remember what object they saw, where they saw it (quadrant location), and on which occasion (yellow or blue walls) it was presented.

Automated feature extraction for retinal vascular biometry in zebrafish using OCT angiography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bozic, Ivan; Rao, Gopikrishna M.; Desai, Vineet; Tao, Yuankai K.

2017-02-01

Zebrafish have been identified as an ideal model for angiogenesis because of anatomical and functional similarities with other vertebrates. The scale and complexity of zebrafish assays are limited by the need to manually treat and serially screen animals, and recent technological advances have focused on automation and improving throughput. Here, we use optical coherence tomography (OCT) and OCT angiography (OCT-A) to perform noninvasive, in vivo imaging of retinal vasculature in zebrafish. OCT-A summed voxel projections were low pass filtered and skeletonized to create an en face vascular map prior to connectivity analysis. Vascular segmentation was referenced to the optic nerve head (ONH), which was identified by automatically segmenting the retinal pigment epithelium boundary on the OCT structural volume. The first vessel branch generation was identified as skeleton segments with branch points closest to the ONH, and subsequent generations were found iteratively by expanding the search space outwards from the ONH. Biometric parameters, including length, curvature, and branch angle of each vessel segment were calculated and grouped by branch generation. Despite manual handling and alignment of each animal over multiple time points, we observe distinct qualitative patterns that enable unique identification of each eye from individual animals. We believe this OCT-based retinal biometry method can be applied for automated animal identification and handling in high-throughput organism-level pharmacological assays and genetic screens. In addition, these extracted features may enable high-resolution quantification of longitudinal vascular changes as a method for studying zebrafish models of retinal neovascularization and vascular remodeling.

Mixtures, Metabolites, and Mechanisms: Understanding Toxicology Using Zebrafish

PubMed Central

Gamse, Joshua T.

2016-01-01

Abstract For more than 60 years, zebrafish have been used in toxicological studies. Due to their transparency, genetic tractability, and compatibility with high-throughput screens, zebrafish embryos are uniquely suited to study the effects of pharmaceuticals and environmental insults on embryonic development, organ formation and function, and reproductive success. This special issue of Zebrafish highlights the ways zebrafish are used to investigate the toxic effects of endocrine disruptors, pesticides, and heavy metals. PMID:27618129

Identification of immune protective genes of Eimeria maxima through cDNA expression library screening.

PubMed

Yang, XinChao; Li, MengHui; Liu, JianHua; Ji, YiHong; Li, XiangRui; Xu, LiXin; Yan, RuoFeng; Song, XiaoKai

2017-02-16

Eimeria maxima is one of the most prevalent Eimeria species causing avian coccidiosis, and results in huge economic loss to the global poultry industry. Current control strategies, such as anti-coccidial medication and live vaccines have been limited because of their drawbacks. The third generation anticoccidial vaccines including the recombinant vaccines as well as DNA vaccines have been suggested as a promising alternative strategy. To date, only a few protective antigens of E. maxima have been reported. Hence, there is an urgent need to identify novel protective antigens of E. maxima for the development of neotype anticoccidial vaccines. With the aim of identifying novel protective genes of E. maxima, a cDNA expression library of E. maxima sporozoites was constructed using Gateway technology. Subsequently, the cDNA expression library was divided into 15 sub-libraries for cDNA expression library immunization (cDELI) using parasite challenged model in chickens. Protective sub-libraries were selected for the next round of screening until individual protective clones were obtained, which were further sequenced and analyzed. Adopting the Gateway technology, a high-quality entry library was constructed, containing 9.2 × 10 6 clones with an average inserted fragments length of 1.63 kb. The expression library capacity was 2.32 × 10 7 colony-forming units (cfu) with an average inserted fragments length of 1.64 Kb. The expression library was screened using parasite challenged model in chickens. The screening yielded 6 immune protective genes including four novel protective genes of EmJS-1, EmRP, EmHP-1 and EmHP-2, and two known protective genes of EmSAG and EmCKRS. EmJS-1 is the selR domain-containing protein of E. maxima whose function is unknown. EmHP-1 and EmHP-2 are the hypothetical proteins of E. maxima. EmRP and EmSAG are rhomboid-like protein and surface antigen glycoproteins of E. maxima respectively, and involved in invasion of the parasite. Our

Novel biomarkers of perchlorate exposure in zebrafish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mukhi, S.; Carr, J.A.; Anderson, T.A.; Patino, R.

2005-01-01

Perchlorate inhibits iodide uptake by thyroid follicles and lowers thyroid hormone production. Although several effects of perchlorate on the thyroid system have been reported, the utility of these pathologies as markers of environmental perchlorate exposures has not been adequately assessed. The present study examined time-course and concentration-dependent effects of perchlorate on thyroid follicle hypertrophy, colloid depletion, and angiogenesis; alterations in whole-body thyroxine (T4) levels; and somatic growth and condition factor of subadult and adult zebrafish. Changes in the intensity of the colloidal T4 ring previously observed in zebrafish also were examined immunohistochemically. Three-month-old zebrafish were exposed to ammonium perchlorate at measured perchlorate concentrations of 0, 11, 90, 1,131, and 11,480 ppb for 12 weeks and allowed to recover in clean water for 12 weeks. At two weeks of exposure, the lowest-observed-effective concentrations (LOECs) of perchlorate that induced angiogenesis and depressed the intensity of colloidal T4 ring were 90 and 1,131 ppb, respectively; other parameters were not affected (whole-body T4 was not determined at this time). At 12 weeks of exposure, LOECs for colloid depletion, hypertrophy, angiogenesis, and colloidal T4 ring were 11,480, 1,131, 90, and 11 ppb, respectively. All changes were reversible, but residual effects on angiogenesis and colloidal T4 ring intensity were still present after 12 weeks of recovery (LOEC, 11,480 ppb). Whole-body T 4 concentration, body growth (length and weight), and condition factor were not affected by perchlorate. The sensitivity and longevity of changes in colloidal T4 ring intensity and angiogenesis suggest their usefulness as novel markers of perchlorate exposure. The 12-week LOEC for colloidal T4 ring is the lowest reported for any perchlorate biomarker in aquatic vertebrates. ?? 2005 SETAC.

Zebrafish model systems for developmental neurobehavioral toxicology.

PubMed

Bailey, Jordan; Oliveri, Anthony; Levin, Edward D

2013-03-01

Zebrafish offer many advantages that complement classic mammalian models for the study of normal development as well as for the teratogenic effects of exposure to hazardous compounds. The clear chorion and embryo of the zebrafish allow for continuous visualization of the anatomical changes associated with development, which, along with short maturation times and the capability of complex behavior, makes this model particularly useful for measuring changes to the developing nervous system. Moreover, the rich array of developmental, behavioral, and molecular benefits offered by the zebrafish have contributed to an increasing demand for the use of zebrafish in behavioral teratology. Essential for this endeavor has been the development of a battery of tests to evaluate a spectrum of behavior in zebrafish. Measures of sensorimotor plasticity, emotional function, cognition and social interaction have been used to characterize the persisting adverse effects of developmental exposure to a variety of chemicals including therapeutic drugs, drugs of abuse and environmental toxicants. In this review, we present and discuss such tests and data from a range of developmental neurobehavioral toxicology studies using zebrafish as a model. Zebrafish provide a key intermediate model between high throughput in vitro screens and the classic mammalian models as they have the accessibility of in vitro models and the complex functional capabilities of mammalian models. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Zebrafish Model Systems for Developmental Neurobehavioral Toxicology

PubMed Central

Bailey, Jordan; Oliveri, Anthony; Levin, Edward D.

2014-01-01

Zebrafish offer many advantages that complement classic mammalian models for the study of normal development as well as for the teratogenic effects of exposure to hazardous compounds. The clear chorion and embryo of the zebrafish allow for continuous visualization of the anatomical changes associated with development, which, along with short maturation times and the capability of complex behavior, makes this model particularly useful for measuring changes to the developing nervous system. Moreover, the rich array of developmental, behavioral, and molecular benefits offered by the zebrafish have contributed to an increasing demand for the use of zebrafish in behavioral teratology. Essential for this endeavor has been the development of a battery of tests to evaluate a spectrum of behavior in zebrafish. Measures of sensorimotor plasticity, emotional function, cognition and social interaction have been used to characterize the persisting adverse effects of developmental exposure to a variety of chemicals including therapeutic drugs, drugs of abuse and environmental toxicants. In this review, we present and discuss such tests and data from a range of developmental neurobehavioral toxicology studies using zebrafish as a model. Zebrafish provide a key intermediate model between high throughput in vitro screens and the classic mammalian models as they have the accessibility of in vitro models and the complex functional capabilities of mammalian models. PMID:23723169

Pulp regeneration in a full-length human tooth root using a hierarchical nanofibrous microsphere system.

PubMed

Li, Xiangwei; Ma, Chi; Xie, Xiaohua; Sun, Hongchen; Liu, Xiaohua

2016-04-15

While pulp regeneration using tissue engineering strategy has been explored for over a decade, successful regeneration of pulp tissues in a full-length human root with a one-end seal that truly simulates clinical endodontic treatment has not been achieved. To address this challenge, we designed and synthesized a unique hierarchical growth factor-loaded nanofibrous microsphere scaffolding system. In this system, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) binds with heparin and is encapsulated in heparin-conjugated gelatin nanospheres, which are further immobilized in the nanofibers of an injectable poly(l-lactic acid) (PLLA) microsphere. This hierarchical microsphere system not only protects the VEGF from denaturation and degradation, but also provides excellent control of its sustained release. In addition, the nanofibrous PLLA microsphere integrates the extracellular matrix-mimicking architecture with a highly porous injectable form, efficiently accommodating dental pulp stem cells (DPSCs) and supporting their proliferation and pulp tissue formation. Our in vivo study showed the successful regeneration of pulp-like tissues that fulfilled the entire apical and middle thirds and reached the coronal third of the full-length root canal. In addition, a large number of blood vessels were regenerated throughout the canal. For the first time, our work demonstrates the success of pulp tissue regeneration in a full-length root canal, making it a significant step toward regenerative endodontics. The regeneration of pulp tissues in a full-length tooth root canal has been one of the greatest challenges in the field of regenerative endodontics, and one of the biggest barriers for its clinical application. In this study, we developed a unique approach to tackle this challenge, and for the first time, we successfully regenerated living pulp tissues in a full-length root canal, making it a significant step toward regenerative endodontics. This study will make positive scientific

Loss of GATA-1 Full Length as a Cause of Diamond–Blackfan Anemia Phenotype

PubMed Central

Parrella, Sara; Aspesi, Anna; Quarello, Paola; Garelli, Emanuela; Pavesi, Elisa; Carando, Adriana; Nardi, Margherita; Ellis, Steven R.; Ramenghi, Ugo; Dianzani, Irma

2015-01-01

Mutations in the hematopoietic transcription factor GATA-1 alter the proliferation/differentiation of hemopoietic progenitors. Mutations in exon 2 interfere with the synthesis of the full-length isoform of GATA-1 and lead to the production of a shortened isoform, GATA-1s. These mutations have been found in patients with Diamond–Blackfan anemia (DBA), a congenital erythroid aplasia typically caused by mutations in genes encoding ribosomal proteins. We sequenced GATA-1 in 23 patients that were negative for mutations in the most frequently mutated DBA genes. One patient showed a c.2T > C mutation in the initiation codon leading to the loss of the full-length GATA-1 isoform. PMID:24453067

Full-length genomic characterization and molecular evolution of canine parvovirus in China.

PubMed

Zhou, Ling; Tang, Qinghai; Shi, Lijun; Kong, Miaomiao; Liang, Lin; Mao, Qianqian; Bu, Bin; Yao, Lunguang; Zhao, Kai; Cui, Shangjin; Leal, Élcio

2016-06-01

Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2) can cause acute haemorrhagic enteritis in dogs and myocarditis in puppies. This disease has become one of the most serious infectious diseases of dogs. During 2014 in China, there were many cases of acute infectious diarrhoea in dogs. Some faecal samples were negative for the CPV-2 antigen based on a colloidal gold test strip but were positive based on PCR, and a viral strain was isolated from one such sample. The cytopathic effect on susceptible cells and the results of the immunoperoxidase monolayer assay, PCR, and sequencing indicated that the pathogen was CPV-2. The strain was named CPV-NY-14, and the full-length genome was sequenced and analysed. A maximum likelihood tree was constructed using the full-length genome and all available CPV-2 genomes. New strains have replaced the original strain in Taiwan and Italy, although the CPV-2a strain is still predominant there. However, CPV-2a still causes many cases of acute infectious diarrhoea in dogs in China.

Molecular Architecture of Full-length TRF1 Favors Its Interaction with DNA*

PubMed Central

Boskovic, Jasminka; Martinez-Gago, Jaime; Mendez-Pertuz, Marinela; Buscato, Alberto; Martinez-Torrecuadrada, Jorge Luis; Blasco, Maria A.

2016-01-01

Telomeres are specific DNA-protein structures found at both ends of eukaryotic chromosomes that protect the genome from degradation and from being recognized as double-stranded breaks. In vertebrates, telomeres are composed of tandem repeats of the TTAGGG sequence that are bound by a six-subunit complex called shelterin. Molecular mechanisms of telomere functions remain unknown in large part due to lack of structural data on shelterins, shelterin complex, and its interaction with the telomeric DNA repeats. TRF1 is one of the best studied shelterin components; however, the molecular architecture of the full-length protein remains unknown. We have used single-particle electron microscopy to elucidate the structure of TRF1 and its interaction with telomeric DNA sequence. Our results demonstrate that full-length TRF1 presents a molecular architecture that assists its interaction with telometic DNA and at the same time makes TRFH domains accessible to other TRF1 binding partners. Furthermore, our studies suggest hypothetical models on how other proteins as TIN2 and tankyrase contribute to regulate TRF1 function. PMID:27563064

Comprehensive analysis of coding-lncRNA gene co-expression network uncovers conserved functional lncRNAs in zebrafish.

PubMed

Chen, Wen; Zhang, Xuan; Li, Jing; Huang, Shulan; Xiang, Shuanglin; Hu, Xiang; Liu, Changning

2018-05-09

Zebrafish is a full-developed model system for studying development processes and human disease. Recent studies of deep sequencing had discovered a large number of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in zebrafish. However, only few of them had been functionally characterized. Therefore, how to take advantage of the mature zebrafish system to deeply investigate the lncRNAs' function and conservation is really intriguing. We systematically collected and analyzed a series of zebrafish RNA-seq data, then combined them with resources from known database and literatures. As a result, we obtained by far the most complete dataset of zebrafish lncRNAs, containing 13,604 lncRNA genes (21,128 transcripts) in total. Based on that, a co-expression network upon zebrafish coding and lncRNA genes was constructed and analyzed, and used to predict the Gene Ontology (GO) and the KEGG annotation of lncRNA. Meanwhile, we made a conservation analysis on zebrafish lncRNA, identifying 1828 conserved zebrafish lncRNA genes (1890 transcripts) that have their putative mammalian orthologs. We also found that zebrafish lncRNAs play important roles in regulation of the development and function of nervous system; these conserved lncRNAs present a significant sequential and functional conservation, with their mammalian counterparts. By integrative data analysis and construction of coding-lncRNA gene co-expression network, we gained the most comprehensive dataset of zebrafish lncRNAs up to present, as well as their systematic annotations and comprehensive analyses on function and conservation. Our study provides a reliable zebrafish-based platform to deeply explore lncRNA function and mechanism, as well as the lncRNA commonality between zebrafish and human.

Macrophage–Microbe Interactions: Lessons from the Zebrafish Model

PubMed Central

Yoshida, Nagisa; Frickel, Eva-Maria; Mostowy, Serge

2017-01-01

Macrophages provide front line defense against infections. The study of macrophage–microbe interplay is thus crucial for understanding pathogenesis and infection control. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae provide a unique platform to study macrophage–microbe interactions in vivo, from the level of the single cell to the whole organism. Studies using zebrafish allow non-invasive, real-time visualization of macrophage recruitment and phagocytosis. Furthermore, the chemical and genetic tractability of zebrafish has been central to decipher the complex role of macrophages during infection. Here, we discuss the latest developments using zebrafish models of bacterial and fungal infection. We also review novel aspects of macrophage biology revealed by zebrafish, which can potentiate development of new therapeutic strategies for humans. PMID:29250076

Single-cell full-length total RNA sequencing uncovers dynamics of recursive splicing and enhancer RNAs.

PubMed

Hayashi, Tetsutaro; Ozaki, Haruka; Sasagawa, Yohei; Umeda, Mana; Danno, Hiroki; Nikaido, Itoshi

2018-02-12

Total RNA sequencing has been used to reveal poly(A) and non-poly(A) RNA expression, RNA processing and enhancer activity. To date, no method for full-length total RNA sequencing of single cells has been developed despite the potential of this technology for single-cell biology. Here we describe random displacement amplification sequencing (RamDA-seq), the first full-length total RNA-sequencing method for single cells. Compared with other methods, RamDA-seq shows high sensitivity to non-poly(A) RNA and near-complete full-length transcript coverage. Using RamDA-seq with differentiation time course samples of mouse embryonic stem cells, we reveal hundreds of dynamically regulated non-poly(A) transcripts, including histone transcripts and long noncoding RNA Neat1. Moreover, RamDA-seq profiles recursive splicing in >300-kb introns. RamDA-seq also detects enhancer RNAs and their cell type-specific activity in single cells. Taken together, we demonstrate that RamDA-seq could help investigate the dynamics of gene expression, RNA-processing events and transcriptional regulation in single cells.

[Preparation of the cDNA microarray on the differential expressed cDNA of senescence-accelerated mouse's hippocampus].

PubMed

Cheng, Xiao-Rui; Zhou, Wen-Xia; Zhang, Yong-Xiang

2006-05-01

Alzheimer' s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in the elderly. AD is an invariably fatal neurodegenerative disorder with no effective treatment. Senescence-accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) is a model for studying age-related cognitive impairments and also is a good model to study brain aging and one of mouse model of AD. The technique of cDNA microarray can monitor the expression levels of thousands of genes simultaneously and can be used to study AD with the character of multi-mechanism, multi-targets and multi-pathway. In order to disclose the mechanism of AD and find the drug targets of AD, cDNA microarray containing 3136 cDNAs amplified from the suppression subtracted cDNA library of hippocampus of SAMP8 and SAMR1 was prepared with 16 blocks and 14 x 14 pins, the housekeeping gene beta-actin and G3PDH as inner conference. The background of this microarray was low and unanimous, and dots divided evenly. The conditions of hybridization and washing were optimized during the hybridization of probe and target molecule. After the data of hybridization analysis, the differential expressed cDNAs were sequenced and analyzed by the bioinformatics, and some of genes were quantified by the real time RT-PCR and the reliability of this cDNA microarray were validated. This cDNA microarray may be the good means to select the differential expressed genes and disclose the molecular mechanism of SAMP8's brain aging and AD.

Contextual Fear Conditioning in Zebrafish

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kenney, Justin W.; Scott, Ian C.; Josselyn, Sheena A.; Frankland, Paul W.

2017-01-01

Zebrafish are a genetically tractable vertebrate that hold considerable promise for elucidating the molecular basis of behavior. Although numerous recent advances have been made in the ability to precisely manipulate the zebrafish genome, much less is known about many aspects of learning and memory in adult fish. Here, we describe the development…

cDNA cloning, expression and immune function analysis of a novel Rac1 gene (AjRac1) in the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus.

PubMed

Li, Kaiquan; Liu, Lin; Shang, Shengnan; Wang, Yi; Zhan, Yaoyao; Song, Jian; Zhang, Xiangxiang; Chang, Yaqing

2017-10-01

The ras-related C3 botulinum toxin substrate 1 (Rac1) belongs to Ras homolog (Rho) small GTPases subfamily. As an important molecular switch, Rac1 regulates various processes in the cell, especially in cellular immune response. With attempt to clarify characters and functions of Rac1 in sea cucumbers, full length cDNA of a Rac1 homolog in the sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (AjRac1) was cloned by transcriptome database mining and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) techniques. The open reading frame of AjRac1 is 579 bp encoding a protein with a length of 192 aa. Sequence analysis showed that AjRac1 is highly conserved as compared to those from other eukaryotic species. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that amino acid sequence of AjRac1 closely related to those from Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Results of expression analysis showed that AjRac1 exhibited a relative high expression in blastula stage, adult coelomocytes and respiratory tree in A. japonicus. The transcription of AjRac1 in adult coelomocytes altered significantly at 4 h- and 12 h-after Vibrio splendidus infection, respectively, which indicated that AjRac1 involved in sea cucumber innate immunity. All data presented in this study will deepen our understanding of characterizations and immunological functions of Rac1 in sea cucumbers. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Single-molecule, full-length transcript sequencing provides insight into the extreme metabolism of the ruby-throated hummingbird Archilochus colubris.

PubMed

Workman, Rachael E; Myrka, Alexander M; Wong, G William; Tseng, Elizabeth; Welch, Kenneth C; Timp, Winston

2018-03-01

Hummingbirds oxidize ingested nectar sugars directly to fuel foraging but cannot sustain this fuel use during fasting periods, such as during the night or during long-distance migratory flights. Instead, fasting hummingbirds switch to oxidizing stored lipids that are derived from ingested sugars. The hummingbird liver plays a key role in moderating energy homeostasis and this remarkable capacity for fuel switching. Additionally, liver is the principle location of de novo lipogenesis, which can occur at exceptionally high rates, such as during premigratory fattening. Yet understanding how this tissue and whole organism moderates energy turnover is hampered by a lack of information regarding how relevant enzymes differ in sequence, expression, and regulation. We generated a de novo transcriptome of the hummingbird liver using PacBio full-length cDNA sequencing (Iso-Seq), yielding 8.6Gb of sequencing data, or 2.6M reads from 4 different size fractions. We analyzed data using the SMRTAnalysis v3.1 Iso-Seq pipeline, then clustered isoforms into gene families to generate de novo gene contigs using Cogent. We performed orthology analysis to identify closely related sequences between our transcriptome and other avian and human gene sets. Finally, we closely examined homology of critical lipid metabolism genes between our transcriptome data and avian and human genomes. We confirmed high levels of sequence divergence within hummingbird lipogenic enzymes, suggesting a high probability of adaptive divergent function in the hepatic lipogenic pathways. Our results leverage cutting-edge technology and a novel bioinformatics pipeline to provide a first direct look at the transcriptome of this incredible organism.

Advancing biology through a deeper understanding of zebrafish ecology and evolution

PubMed Central

Parichy, David M

2015-01-01

Over the last two decades, the zebrafish has joined the ranks of premier model organisms for biomedical research, with a full suite of tools and genomic resources. Yet we still know comparatively little about its natural history. Here I review what is known about the natural history of the zebrafish, where significant gaps in our knowledge remain, and how a fuller appreciation of this organism's ecology and behavior, population genetics, and phylogeny can inform a variety of research endeavors. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05635.001 PMID:25807087

Procedure for normalization of cDNA libraries

DOEpatents

Bonaldo, Maria DeFatima; Soares, Marcelo Bento

1997-01-01

This invention provides a method to normalize a cDNA library constructed in a vector capable of being converted to single-stranded circles and capable of producing complementary nucleic acid molecules to the single-stranded circles comprising: (a) converting the cDNA library in single-stranded circles; (b) generating complementary nucleic acid molecules to the single-stranded circles; (c) hybridizing the single-stranded circles converted in step (a) with complementary nucleic acid molecules of step (b) to produce partial duplexes to an appropriate Cot; (e) separating the unhybridized single-stranded circles from the hybridized single-stranded circles, thereby generating a normalized cDNA library.

Procedure for normalization of cDNA libraries

DOEpatents

Bonaldo, M.D.; Soares, M.B.

1997-12-30

This invention provides a method to normalize a cDNA library constructed in a vector capable of being converted to single-stranded circles and capable of producing complementary nucleic acid molecules to the single-stranded circles comprising: (a) converting the cDNA library in single-stranded circles; (b) generating complementary nucleic acid molecules to the single-stranded circles; (c) hybridizing the single-stranded circles converted in step (a) with complementary nucleic acid molecules of step (b) to produce partial duplexes to an appropriate Cot; (e) separating the unhybridized single-stranded circles from the hybridized single-stranded circles, thereby generating a normalized cDNA library. 1 fig.

Knockdown of prothrombin in zebrafish.

PubMed

Day, Kenneth; Krishnegowda, Naveen; Jagadeeswaran, Pudur

2004-01-01

Thrombin is a serine protease generated from its zymogen, prothrombin, and plays a central role in the coagulation cascade. It is also important for mammalian development. The zebrafish has now been established as an excellent genetic model for studies on mammalian hemostasis and development. In this report, we used prothrombin-specific antisense morpholinos to knock down the levels of prothrombin to characterize the effects of prothrombin deficiency in the zebrafish embryo. Prothrombin morpholino-injected zebrafish embryos yielded an early phenotype exhibiting severe abnormalities that later showed occasional bleeding. In a second late phenotype, the embryos had no observable morphological abnormalities in early stages, but showed occasional bleeding at later stages. These phenotypes resembled characteristics shown by prothrombin knockout mice. Laser-induced vascular injury on some of the normal appearing phenotypic larvae showed a prolonged time to occlusion, and recombinant zebrafish prothrombin injected into these larvae restored a normal time to occlusion thus showing the specificity of the morpholino effect. The system developed here should be useful for investigation of the role of thrombin in vertebrate development.

A Zebrafish Heart Failure Model for Assessing Therapeutic Agents.

PubMed

Zhu, Xiao-Yu; Wu, Si-Qi; Guo, Sheng-Ya; Yang, Hua; Xia, Bo; Li, Ping; Li, Chun-Qi

2018-03-20

Heart failure is a leading cause of death and the development of effective and safe therapeutic agents for heart failure has been proven challenging. In this study, taking advantage of larval zebrafish, we developed a zebrafish heart failure model for drug screening and efficacy assessment. Zebrafish at 2 dpf (days postfertilization) were treated with verapamil at a concentration of 200 μM for 30 min, which were determined as optimum conditions for model development. Tested drugs were administered into zebrafish either by direct soaking or circulation microinjection. After treatment, zebrafish were randomly selected and subjected to either visual observation and image acquisition or record videos under a Zebralab Blood Flow System. The therapeutic effects of drugs on zebrafish heart failure were quantified by calculating the efficiency of heart dilatation, venous congestion, cardiac output, and blood flow dynamics. All 8 human heart failure therapeutic drugs (LCZ696, digoxin, irbesartan, metoprolol, qiliqiangxin capsule, enalapril, shenmai injection, and hydrochlorothiazide) showed significant preventive and therapeutic effects on zebrafish heart failure (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, and p < 0.001) in the zebrafish model. The larval zebrafish heart failure model developed and validated in this study could be used for in vivo heart failure studies and for rapid screening and efficacy assessment of preventive and therapeutic drugs.

A genomic view of the NOD-like receptor family in teleost fish: Identification of a novel NLR subfamily in zebrafish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Laing, K.J.; Purcell, M.K.; Winton, J.R.; Hansen, J.D.

2008-01-01

Background. A large multigene family of NOD-like receptor (NLR) molecules have been described in mammals and implicated in immunity and apoptosis. Little information, however, exists concerning this gene family in non-mammalian taxa. This current study, therefore, provides an in-depth investigation of this gene family in lower vertebrates including extensive phylogenetic comparison of zebrafish NLRs with orthologs in tetrapods, and analysis of their tissue-specific expression. Results. Three distinct NLR subfamilies were identified by mining genome databases of various non-mammalian vertebrates; the first subfamily (NLR-A) resembles mammalian NODs, the second (NLR-B) resembles mammalian NALPs, while the third (NLR-C) appears to be unique to teleost fish. In zebrafish, NLR-A and NLR-B subfamilies contain five and six genes respectively. The third subfamily is large, containing several hundred NLR-C genes, many of which are predicted to encode a C-terminal B30.2 domain. This subfamily most likely evolved from a NOD3-like molecule. Gene predictions for zebrafish NLRs were verified using sequence derived from ESTs or direct sequencing of cDNA. Reverse-transcriptase (RT)-PCR analysis confirmed expression of representative genes from each subfamily in selected tissues. Conclusion. Our findings confirm the presence of multiple NLR gene orthologs, which form a large multigene family in teleostei. Although the functional significance of the three major NLR subfamilies is unclear, we speculate that conservation and abundance of NLR molecules in all teleostei genomes, reflects an essential role in cellular control, apoptosis or immunity throughout bony fish. ?? 2008 Laing et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Zebrafish: an animal model for research in veterinary medicine.

PubMed

Nowik, N; Podlasz, P; Jakimiuk, A; Kasica, N; Sienkiewicz, W; Kaleczyc, J

2015-01-01

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) has become known as an excellent model organism for studies of vertebrate biology, vertebrate genetics, embryonal development, diseases and drug screening. Nevertheless, there is still lack of detailed reports about usage of the zebrafish as a model in veterinary medicine. Comparing to other vertebrates, they can lay hundreds of eggs at weekly intervals, externally fertilized zebrafish embryos are accessible to observation and manipulation at all stages of their development, which makes possible to simplify the research techniques such as fate mapping, fluorescent tracer time-lapse lineage analysis and single cell transplantation. Although zebrafish are only 2.5 cm long, they are easy to maintain. Intraperitoneal and intracerebroventricular injections, blood sampling and measurement of food intake are possible to be carry out in adult zebrafish. Danio rerio is a useful animal model for neurobiology, developmental biology, drug research, virology, microbiology and genetics. A lot of diseases, for which the zebrafish is a perfect model organism, affect aquatic animals. For a part of them, like those caused by Mycobacterium marinum or Pseudoloma neutrophila, Danio rerio is a natural host, but the zebrafish is also susceptible to the most of fish diseases including Itch, Spring viraemia of carp and Infectious spleen and kidney necrosis. The zebrafish is commonly used in research of bacterial virulence. The zebrafish embryo allows for rapid, non-invasive and real time analysis of bacterial infections in a vertebrate host. Plenty of common pathogens can be examined using zebrafish model: Streptococcus iniae, Vibrio anguillarum or Listeria monocytogenes. The steps are taken to use the zebrafish also in fungal research, especially that dealing with Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans. Although, the zebrafish is used commonly as an animal model to study diseases caused by external agents, it is also useful in studies of metabolic

Lidocaine Hydrochloride Compared with MS222 for the Euthanasia of Zebrafish (Danio rerio).

PubMed

Collymore, Chereen; Banks, E Kate; Turner, Patricia V

2016-11-01

Despite several shortcomings, MS222 is the most commonly used chemical agent for euthanasia of zebrafish. Although lidocaine hydrochloride has some advantages over MS222, its effectiveness as a euthanasia agent for zebrafish is unknown. Larvae at 9 to 16 d postfertilization were exposed to 250 mg/L MS222 or 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, or 1000 mg/L lidocaine and observed for cessation of heartbeat. Adult zebrafish were exposed to 250 mg/L MS222 or 400, 500, or 600 mg/L lidocaine; times to loss of righting reflex, cessation of opercular movement, and complete recovery; body length; aversive behavior; and gross and microscopic evidence of acute toxicity were evaluated. The heartbeat was not lost from any larvae in any group, regardless of drug or dosage. For adults, time to loss of righting reflex was greatest in the 500-mg/L lidocaine group. Opercular movement ceased earlier in all lidocaine groups compared with the MS222 group. Fish in the 500-mg/L lidocaine group were smaller than those in other groups. Fewer fish in the lidocaine groups displayed aversive behavior (erratic swimming and piping) compared with the MS222 group. No fish in the lidocaine hydrochloride groups (n = 30) recovered from euthanasia, whereas one fish in the MS222 group did (n = 10). Neither the MS222 nor lidocaine groups showed any gross or histologic changes suggestive of acute toxicity. Our results suggest that lidocaine hydrochloride may be an effective alternative chemical euthanasia agent for adult zebrafish but should not be used in larval fish.

Lidocaine Hydrochloride Compared with MS222 for the Euthanasia of Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

PubMed Central

Collymore, Chereen; Banks, E Kate; Turner, Patricia V

2016-01-01

Despite several shortcomings, MS222 is the most commonly used chemical agent for euthanasia of zebrafish. Although lidocaine hydrochloride has some advantages over MS222, its effectiveness as a euthanasia agent for zebrafish is unknown. Larvae at 9 to 16 d postfertilization were exposed to 250 mg/L MS222 or 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, or 1000 mg/L lidocaine and observed for cessation of heartbeat. Adult zebrafish were exposed to 250 mg/L MS222 or 400, 500, or 600 mg/L lidocaine; times to loss of righting reflex, cessation of opercular movement, and complete recovery; body length; aversive behavior; and gross and microscopic evidence of acute toxicity were evaluated. The heartbeat was not lost from any larvae in any group, regardless of drug or dosage. For adults, time to loss of righting reflex was greatest in the 500-mg/L lidocaine group. Opercular movement ceased earlier in all lidocaine groups compared with the MS222 group. Fish in the 500-mg/L lidocaine group were smaller than those in other groups. Fewer fish in the lidocaine groups displayed aversive behavior (erratic swimming and piping) compared with the MS222 group. No fish in the lidocaine hydrochloride groups (n = 30) recovered from euthanasia, whereas one fish in the MS222 group did (n = 10). Neither the MS222 nor lidocaine groups showed any gross or histologic changes suggestive of acute toxicity. Our results suggest that lidocaine hydrochloride may be an effective alternative chemical euthanasia agent for adult zebrafish but should not be used in larval fish. PMID:27931323

Automated analysis of brain activity for seizure detection in zebrafish models of epilepsy.

PubMed

Hunyadi, Borbála; Siekierska, Aleksandra; Sourbron, Jo; Copmans, Daniëlle; de Witte, Peter A M

2017-08-01

Epilepsy is a chronic neurological condition, with over 30% of cases unresponsive to treatment. Zebrafish larvae show great potential to serve as an animal model of epilepsy in drug discovery. Thanks to their high fecundity and relatively low cost, they are amenable to high-throughput screening. However, the assessment of seizure occurrences in zebrafish larvae remains a bottleneck, as visual analysis is subjective and time-consuming. For the first time, we present an automated algorithm to detect epileptic discharges in single-channel local field potential (LFP) recordings in zebrafish. First, candidate seizure segments are selected based on their energy and length. Afterwards, discriminative features are extracted from each segment. Using a labeled dataset, a support vector machine (SVM) classifier is trained to learn an optimal feature mapping. Finally, this SVM classifier is used to detect seizure segments in new signals. We tested the proposed algorithm both in a chemically-induced seizure model and a genetic epilepsy model. In both cases, the algorithm delivered similar results to visual analysis and found a significant difference in number of seizures between the epileptic and control group. Direct comparison with multichannel techniques or methods developed for different animal models is not feasible. Nevertheless, a literature review shows that our algorithm outperforms state-of-the-art techniques in terms of accuracy, precision and specificity, while maintaining a reasonable sensitivity. Our seizure detection system is a generic, time-saving and objective method to analyze zebrafish LPF, which can replace visual analysis and facilitate true high-throughput studies. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

CTCF knockout reveals an essential role for this protein during the zebrafish development.

PubMed

Carmona-Aldana, Francisco; Zampedri, Cecilia; Suaste-Olmos, Fernando; Murillo-de-Ozores, Adrián; Guerrero, Georgina; Arzate-Mejía, Rodrigo; Maldonado, Ernesto; Navarro, Rosa; Chimal-Monroy, Jesús; Recillas-Targa, Félix

2018-05-01

Chromatin regulation and organization are essential processes that regulate gene activity. The CCCTC-binding factor (CTCF) is a protein with different and important molecular functions related with chromatin dynamics. It is conserved since invertebrates to vertebrates, posing it as a factor with an important role in the physiology. In this work, we aimed to understand the distribution and functional relevance of CTCF during the embryonic development of the zebrafish (Danio rerio). We generated a zebrafish specific anti-Ctcf antibody, and found this protein to be ubiquitous, through different stages and tissues. We used the CRISPR-Cas9 system to induce molecular alterations in the locus. This resulted in early lethality. We delayed the lethality performing knockdown morpholino experiments, and found an aberrant embryo morphology involving malformations in structures through all the length of the embryo. These phenotypes were rescued with human CTCF mRNA injections, showing the specificity of the morpholinos and a partial functional conservation between the fish and the human proteins. Lastly, we found that the pro-apoptotic genes p53 and bbc3/PUMA are deregulated in the ctcf morpholino-injected embryos. In conclusion, CTCF is a ubiquitous factor during the zebrafish development, which regulates the correct formation of different structures of the embryo, and its deregulation impacts on essential cell survival genes. Overall, this work provides a basis to look for the particular functions of CTCF in the different developing tissues and organs of the zebrafish. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Zebrafish: A Versatile Animal Model for Fertility Research.

PubMed

Hoo, Jing Ying; Kumari, Yatinesh; Shaikh, Mohd Farooq; Hue, Seow Mun; Goh, Bey Hing

2016-01-01

The utilization of zebrafish in biomedical research is very common in the research world nowadays. Today, it has emerged as a favored vertebrate organism for the research in science of reproduction. There is a significant growth in amount numbers of scientific literature pertaining to research discoveries in reproductive sciences in zebrafish. It has implied the importance of zebrafish in this particular field of research. In essence, the current available literature has covered from the very specific brain region or neurons of zebrafish, which are responsible for reproductive regulation, until the gonadal level of the animal. The discoveries and findings have proven that this small animal is sharing a very close/similar reproductive system with mammals. More interestingly, the behavioral characteristics and along with the establishment of animal courtship behavior categorization in zebrafish have laid an even stronger foundation and firmer reason on the suitability of zebrafish utilization in research of reproductive sciences. In view of the immense importance of this small animal for the development of reproductive sciences, this review aimed at compiling and describing the proximate close similarity of reproductive regulation on zebrafish and human along with factors contributing to the infertility, showing its versatility and its potential usage for fertility research.

Zebrafish: A Versatile Animal Model for Fertility Research

PubMed Central

Hoo, Jing Ying; Kumari, Yatinesh; Shaikh, Mohd Farooq; Hue, Seow Mun

2016-01-01

The utilization of zebrafish in biomedical research is very common in the research world nowadays. Today, it has emerged as a favored vertebrate organism for the research in science of reproduction. There is a significant growth in amount numbers of scientific literature pertaining to research discoveries in reproductive sciences in zebrafish. It has implied the importance of zebrafish in this particular field of research. In essence, the current available literature has covered from the very specific brain region or neurons of zebrafish, which are responsible for reproductive regulation, until the gonadal level of the animal. The discoveries and findings have proven that this small animal is sharing a very close/similar reproductive system with mammals. More interestingly, the behavioral characteristics and along with the establishment of animal courtship behavior categorization in zebrafish have laid an even stronger foundation and firmer reason on the suitability of zebrafish utilization in research of reproductive sciences. In view of the immense importance of this small animal for the development of reproductive sciences, this review aimed at compiling and describing the proximate close similarity of reproductive regulation on zebrafish and human along with factors contributing to the infertility, showing its versatility and its potential usage for fertility research. PMID:27556045

Identification of full-length proviral DNA of porcine endogenous retrovirus from Chinese Wuzhishan miniature pigs inbred.

PubMed

Ma, Yuyuan; Lv, Maomin; Xu, Shu; Wu, Jianmin; Tian, Kegong; Zhang, Jingang

2010-07-01

Existence of porcine endogenous retrovirus (PERV) hinders pigs to be used in clinical xenotransplantation to alleviate the shortage of human transplants. Chinese miniature pigs are potential organ donors for xenotransplantation in China. However, so far, an adequate level of information on the molecular characteristics of PERV from Chinese miniature pigs has not been available. We described here the cloning and characterization of full-length proviral DNA of PERV from Chinese Wuzhishan miniature pigs inbred (WZSP). Full-length nucleotide sequences of PERV-WZSP and other PERVs were aligned and phylogenetic tree was constructed from deduced amino-acid sequences of env. The results demonstrated that the full-length proviral DNA of PERV-WZSP belongs to gammaretrovirus and shares high similarity with other PERVs. Sequence analysis also suggested that different patterns of LTR existed in the same porcine germ line and partial PERV-C sequence may recombine with PERV-A sequence in LTR. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Physical exercise improves learning in zebrafish, Danio rerio.

PubMed

Luchiari, Ana Carolina; Chacon, Diana Marques Martins

2013-11-01

Zebrafish is an ideal vertebrate model for neuroscience studies focusing on learning and memory. Although genetic manipulation of zebrafish is available, behavioral protocols are often lacking. In this study we tested whether physical activity can facilitate zebrafish's learning process in an associative conditioning task. Learning was inferred by the approach of the feeding area just after the conditioned stimulus (light). Unexercised zebrafish showed conditioning response from the 5th testing day while fish previously submitted to swim against the water current showed learning by the 3rd day of testing. It seems that physical activity may accelerate associative learning response in zebrafish, indicating the benefits of exercise for cognitive processes. We suggest that this preliminary work could be useful for high throughput screening. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Molecular Architecture of Full-length TRF1 Favors Its Interaction with DNA.

PubMed

Boskovic, Jasminka; Martinez-Gago, Jaime; Mendez-Pertuz, Marinela; Buscato, Alberto; Martinez-Torrecuadrada, Jorge Luis; Blasco, Maria A

2016-10-07

Telomeres are specific DNA-protein structures found at both ends of eukaryotic chromosomes that protect the genome from degradation and from being recognized as double-stranded breaks. In vertebrates, telomeres are composed of tandem repeats of the TTAGGG sequence that are bound by a six-subunit complex called shelterin. Molecular mechanisms of telomere functions remain unknown in large part due to lack of structural data on shelterins, shelterin complex, and its interaction with the telomeric DNA repeats. TRF1 is one of the best studied shelterin components; however, the molecular architecture of the full-length protein remains unknown. We have used single-particle electron microscopy to elucidate the structure of TRF1 and its interaction with telomeric DNA sequence. Our results demonstrate that full-length TRF1 presents a molecular architecture that assists its interaction with telometic DNA and at the same time makes TRFH domains accessible to other TRF1 binding partners. Furthermore, our studies suggest hypothetical models on how other proteins as TIN2 and tankyrase contribute to regulate TRF1 function. © 2016 by The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Inc.

Exploring the Effects of Different Types of Surfactants on Zebrafish Embryos and Larvae

PubMed Central

Wang, Yanan; Zhang, Yuan; Li, Xu; Sun, Mingzhu; Wei, Zhuo; Wang, Yu; Gao, Aiai; Chen, Dongyan; Zhao, Xin; Feng, Xizeng

2015-01-01

Currently, surfactants are widely distributed in the environment. As organic pollutants, their toxicities have drawn extensive attention. In this study, the effects of anionic [sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) ], cationic [dodecyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (1227)] and non-ionic [fatty alcohol polyoxyethylene ether (AEO) ] surfactants on zebrafish larval behaviour were evaluated. Five behavioural parameters were recorded using a larval rest/wake assay, including rest total, number of rest bouts, rest bouts length, total activity and waking activity. The results revealed that 1227 and AEO at 1 μg/mL were toxic to larval locomotor activity and that SDS had no significant effects. Moreover, we tested the toxicities of the three surfactants in developing zebrafish embryos. AEO exposure resulted in smaller head size, smaller eye size and shorter body length relative to SDS and 1227. All three surfactants incurred concentration-dependent responses. Furthermore, in situ hybridisation indicated that smaller head size may be associated with a decreased expression of krox20. The altered expression of ntl demonstrated that the developmental retardation stemmed from inhibited cell migration and growth. These findings provide references for ecotoxicological assessments of different types of surfactants, and play a warning role in the application of surfactants. PMID:26053337

Differential gene expression associated with dietary methylmercury (MeHg) exposure in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and zebrafish (Danio rerio)

PubMed Central

Liu, Qing; Basu, Niladri; Goetz, Giles; Jiang, Nan; Hutz, Reinhold J.; Tonellato, Peter J.; Carvan, Michael J.

2013-01-01

The objective of this study was to identify and evaluate conserved biomarkers that could be used in most species of teleost fish at most life-stages. We investigated the effects of sublethal methylmercury (MeHg) exposure on developing rainbow trout and zebrafish. Juvenile rainbow trout and young adult zebrafish were fed food with MeHg added at 0, 0.5, 5 and 50 ppm. Atomic absorption spectrometry was applied to measure whole body total Hg levels, and pathologic analysis was performed to identify MeHg-induced toxicity. Fish at six weeks were sampled from each group for microarray analysis using RNA from whole fish. MeHg-exposed trout and zebrafish did not show overt signs of toxicity or pathology, nor were significant differences seen in mortality, length, mass, or condition factor. The accumulation of MeHg in trout and zebrafish exhibited dose- and time-dependent patterns during six weeks, and zebrafish exhibited greater assimilation of total Hg than rainbow trout. The dysregulated genes in MeHg-treated fish have multiple functional annotations, such as iron ion homeostasis, glutathione transferase activity, regulation of muscle contraction, troponin I binding and calcium-dependent protein binding. Genes were selected as biomarker candidates based on their microarray data and their expression was evaluated by QPCR. Unfortunately, these genes are not good consistent biomarkers for both rainbow trout and zebrafish from QPCR evaluation using individual fish. Our conclusion is that biomarker analysis for aquatic toxicant assessment using fish needs to be based on tissue-, sex- and species-specific consideration. PMID:23529582

kappa-Opioid receptor in humans: cDNA and genomic cloning, chromosomal assignment, functional expression, pharmacology, and expression pattern in the central nervous system.

PubMed Central

Simonin, F; Gavériaux-Ruff, C; Befort, K; Matthes, H; Lannes, B; Micheletti, G; Mattéi, M G; Charron, G; Bloch, B; Kieffer, B

1995-01-01

Using the mouse delta-opioid receptor cDNA as a probe, we have isolated genomic clones encoding the human mu- and kappa-opioid receptor genes. Their organization appears similar to that of the human delta receptor gene, with exon-intron boundaries located after putative transmembrane domains 1 and 4. The kappa gene was mapped at position q11-12 in human chromosome 8. A full-length cDNA encoding the human kappa-opioid receptor has been isolated. The cloned receptor expressed in COS cells presents a typical kappa 1 pharmacological profile and is negatively coupled to adenylate cyclase. The expression of kappa-opioid receptor mRNA in human brain, as estimated by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, is consistent with the involvement of kappa-opioid receptors in pain perception, neuroendocrine physiology, affective behavior, and cognition. In situ hybridization studies performed on human fetal spinal cord demonstrate the presence of the transcript specifically in lamina II of the dorsal horn. Some divergences in structural, pharmacological, and anatomical properties are noted between the cloned human and rodent receptors. Images Fig. 3 Fig. 4 PMID:7624359

In Vitro Synthesized RNA Generated from cDNA Clones of Both Genomic Components of Cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus Replicates in Cucumber Protoplasts

PubMed Central

Owen, Carolyn A.; Moukarzel, Romy; Huang, Xiao; Kassem, Mona A.; Eliasco, Eleonora; Aranda, Miguel A.; Coutts, Robert H. A.; Livieratos, Ioannis C.

2016-01-01

Cucurbit yellow stunting disorder virus (CYSDV), a bipartite whitefly-transmitted virus, constitutes a major threat to commercial cucurbit production worldwide. Here, construction of full-length CYSDV RNA1 and RNA2 cDNA clones allowed the in vitro synthesis of RNA transcripts able to replicate in cucumber protoplasts. CYSDV RNA1 proved competent for replication; transcription of both polarities of the genomic RNA was detectable 24 h post inoculation. Hybridization of total RNA extracted from transfected protoplasts or from naturally CYSDV-infected cucurbits revealed high-level transcription of the p22 subgenomic RNA species. Replication of CYSDV RNA2 following co-transfection with RNA1 was also observed, with similar transcription kinetics. A CYSDV RNA2 cDNA clone (T3CM8Δ) comprising the 5′- and 3′-UTRs plus the 3′-terminal gene, generated a 2.8 kb RNA able to replicate to high levels in protoplasts in the presence of CYSDV RNA1. The clone T3CM8Δ will facilitate reverse genetics studies of CYSDV gene function and RNA replication determinants. PMID:27314380

Lectin cDNA and transgenic plants derived therefrom

DOEpatents

Raikhel, Natasha V.

2000-10-03

Transgenic plants containing cDNA encoding Gramineae lectin are described. The plants preferably contain cDNA coding for barley lectin and store the lectin in the leaves. The transgenic plants, particularly the leaves exhibit insecticidal and fungicidal properties.

Normal anatomy and histology of the adult zebrafish.

PubMed

Menke, Aswin L; Spitsbergen, Jan M; Wolterbeek, Andre P M; Woutersen, Ruud A

2011-08-01

The zebrafish has been shown to be an excellent vertebrate model for studying the roles of specific genes and signaling pathways. The sequencing of its genome and the relative ease with which gene modifications can be performed have led to the creation of numerous human disease models that can be used for testing the potential and the toxicity of new pharmaceutical compounds. Many pharmaceutical companies already use the zebrafish for prescreening purposes. So far, the focus has been on ecotoxicity and the effects on embryonic development, but there is a trend to expand the use of the zebrafish with acute, subchronic, and chronic toxicity studies that are currently still carried out with the more conventional test animals such as rodents. However, before we can fully realize the potential of the zebrafish as an animal model for understanding human development, disease, and toxicology, we must first greatly advance our knowledge of normal zebrafish physiology, anatomy, and histology. To further this knowledge, we describe, in the present article, location and histology of the major zebrafish organ systems with a brief description of their function.

Making Waves: New Developments in Toxicology With the Zebrafish.

PubMed

Horzmann, Katharine A; Freeman, Jennifer L

2018-05-01

The laboratory zebrafish (Danio rerio) is now an accepted model in toxicologic research. The zebrafish model fills a niche between in vitro models and mammalian biomedical models. The developmental characteristics of the small fish are strategically being used by scientists to study topics ranging from high-throughput toxicity screens to toxicity in multi- and transgenerational studies. High-throughput technology has increased the utility of zebrafish embryonic toxicity assays in screening of chemicals and drugs for toxicity or effect. Additionally, advances in behavioral characterization and experimental methodology allow for observation of recognizable phenotypic changes after xenobiotic exposure. Future directions in zebrafish research are predicted to take advantage of CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing methods in creating models of disease and interrogating mechanisms of action with fluorescent reporters or tagged proteins. Zebrafish can also model developmental origins of health and disease and multi- and transgenerational toxicity. The zebrafish has many advantages as a toxicologic model and new methodologies and areas of study continue to expand the usefulness and application of the zebrafish.

A non-canonical function of telomerase RNA in the regulation of developmental myelopoiesis in zebrafish

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alcaraz-Pérez, Francisca; García-Castillo, Jesús; García-Moreno, Diana; López-Muñoz, Azucena; Anchelin, Monique; Angosto, Diego; Zon, Leonard I.; Mulero, Victoriano; Cayuela, María L.

2014-02-01

Dyskeratosis congenita (DC) is an inherited disorder with mutations affecting telomerase or telomeric proteins. DC patients usually die of bone marrow failure. Here we show that genetic depletion of the telomerase RNA component (TR) in the zebrafish results in impaired myelopoiesis, despite normal development of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). The neutropenia caused by TR depletion is independent of telomere length and telomerase activity. Genetic analysis shows that TR modulates the myeloid-erythroid fate decision by controlling the levels of the master myeloid and erythroid transcription factors spi1 and gata1, respectively. The alteration in spi1 and gata1 levels occurs through stimulation of gcsf and mcsf. Our model of TR deficiency in the zebrafish illuminates the non-canonical roles of TR, and could establish therapeutic targets for DC.

Method for construction of normalized cDNA libraries

DOEpatents

Soares, Marcelo B.; Efstratiadis, Argiris

1996-01-01

This invention provides a method to normalize a directional cDNA library constructed in a vector that allows propagation in single-stranded circle form comprising: (a) propagating the directional cDNA library in single-stranded circles; (b) generating fragments complementary to the 3' noncoding sequence of the single-stranded circles in the library to produce partial duplexes; (c) purifying the partial duplexes; (d) melting and reassociating the purified partial duplexes to moderate Cot; and (e) purifying the unassociated single-stranded circles, thereby generating a normalized cDNA library.

Method for construction of normalized cDNA libraries

DOEpatents

Soares, M.B.; Efstratiadis, A.

1996-01-09

This invention provides a method to normalize a directional cDNA library constructed in a vector that allows propagation in single-stranded circle form. The method comprises: (a) propagating the directional cDNA library in single-stranded circles; (b) generating fragments complementary to the 3` noncoding sequence of the single-stranded circles in the library to produce partial duplexes; (c) purifying the partial duplexes; (d) melting and reassociating the purified partial duplexes to moderate Cot; and (e) purifying the unassociated single-stranded circles, thereby generating a normalized cDNA library. 4 figs.

Effects of prolonged exposure to perchlorate on thyroid and reproductive function in zebrafish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mukhi, S.; Patino, R.

2007-01-01

The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of prolonged exposure to perchlorate on (1) thyroid status and reproductive performance of adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) and (2) F1 embryo survival and early larval development. Using a static-renewal procedure, mixed sex populations of adult zebrafish were exposed to 0, 10, and 100 mg/l nominal concentrations of waterborne perchlorate for 10 weeks. Thyroid histology was qualitatively assessed, and females and males were separated and further exposed to their respective treatments for six additional weeks. Eight females in each tank replicate (n = 3) were paired weekly with four males from the same respective treatment, and packed-egg (spawn) volume (PEV) was measured each of the last five weeks. At least once during weeks 14-16 of exposure, other end points measured included fertilization rate, fertilized egg diameter, hatching rate, standard length, and craniofacial development of 4-day-postfertilization larvae and thyroid hormone content of 3.5-h embryos and of exposed mothers. At 10 weeks of exposure, perchlorate at both concentrations caused thyroidal hypertrophy and colloid depletion. A marked reduction in PEV was observed toward the end of the 6-week spawning period, but fertilization and embryo hatching rates were unaffected. Fertilized egg diameter and larval length were increased by parental exposure to perchlorate. Larval head depth was unaffected but the forward protrusion of the lower jaw-associated cartilage complexes, Meckel's and ceratohyal, was decreased. Exposure to both concentrations of perchlorate inhibited whole-body thyroxine content in mothers and embryos, but triiodothyronine content was unchanged. In conclusion, prolonged exposure of adult zebrafish to perchlorate not only disrupts their thyroid endocrine system but also impairs reproduction and influences early F1 development. ?? 2007 Oxford University Press.

Automated measurement of zebrafish larval movement

PubMed Central

Cario, Clinton L; Farrell, Thomas C; Milanese, Chiara; Burton, Edward A

2011-01-01

Abstract The zebrafish is a powerful vertebrate model that is readily amenable to genetic, pharmacological and environmental manipulations to elucidate the molecular and cellular basis of movement and behaviour. We report software enabling automated analysis of zebrafish movement from video recordings captured with cameras ranging from a basic camcorder to more specialized equipment. The software, which is provided as open-source MATLAB functions, can be freely modified and distributed, and is compatible with multiwell plates under a wide range of experimental conditions. Automated measurement of zebrafish movement using this technique will be useful for multiple applications in neuroscience, pharmacology and neuropsychiatry. PMID:21646414

Automated measurement of zebrafish larval movement.

PubMed

Cario, Clinton L; Farrell, Thomas C; Milanese, Chiara; Burton, Edward A

2011-08-01

The zebrafish is a powerful vertebrate model that is readily amenable to genetic, pharmacological and environmental manipulations to elucidate the molecular and cellular basis of movement and behaviour. We report software enabling automated analysis of zebrafish movement from video recordings captured with cameras ranging from a basic camcorder to more specialized equipment. The software, which is provided as open-source MATLAB functions, can be freely modified and distributed, and is compatible with multiwell plates under a wide range of experimental conditions. Automated measurement of zebrafish movement using this technique will be useful for multiple applications in neuroscience, pharmacology and neuropsychiatry.

Learning and memory in zebrafish larvae

PubMed Central

Roberts, Adam C.; Bill, Brent R.; Glanzman, David L.

2013-01-01

Larval zebrafish possess several experimental advantages for investigating the molecular and neural bases of learning and memory. Despite this, neuroscientists have only recently begun to use these animals to study memory. However, in a relatively short period of time a number of forms of learning have been described in zebrafish larvae, and significant progress has been made toward their understanding. Here we provide a comprehensive review of this progress; we also describe several promising new experimental technologies currently being used in larval zebrafish that are likely to contribute major insights into the processes that underlie learning and memory. PMID:23935566

Production of Androgenetic Zebrafish (Danio Rerio)

PubMed Central

Corley-Smith, G. E.; Lim, C. J.; Brandhorst, B. P.

1996-01-01

To help investigate the evolutionary origin of the imprinting (parent-of-origin mono-allelic expression) of paternal genes observed in mammals, we constructed haploid and diploid androgenetic zebrafish (Danio rerio). Haploid androgenotes were produced by fertilizing eggs that had been X-ray irradiated to eliminate the maternal genome. Subsequent inhibition of the first mitotic division of haploid androgenotes by heat shock produced diploid androgenotes. The lack of inheritance of maternal-specific DNA markers (RAPD and SSR) by putative diploid and haploid androgenotes confirmed the androgenetic origin of their genomes. Marker analysis was performed on 18 putative androgenotes (five diploids and 13 haploids) from six families. None of 157 maternal-specific RAPD markers analyzed, some of which were apparently homozygous, were passed on to any of these putative androgenotes. A mean of 7.7 maternal-specific markers were assessed per family. The survival of androgenetic zebrafish suggests that if paternal imprinting occurs in zebrafish, it does not result in essential genes being inactivated when their expression is required for development. Production of haploid androgenotes can be used to determine the meiotic recombination rate in male zebrafish. Androgenesis may also provide useful information about the mechanism of sex determination in zebrafish. PMID:8846903

Preparation of fluorescent-dye-labeled cDNA from RNA for microarray hybridization.

PubMed

Ares, Manuel

2014-01-01

This protocol describes how to prepare fluorescently labeled cDNA for hybridization to microarrays. It consists of two steps: first, a mixture of anchored oligo(dT) and random hexamers is used to prime amine-modified cDNA synthesis by reverse transcriptase using a modified deoxynucleotide with a reactive amine group (aminoallyl-dUTP) and an RNA sample as a template. Second, the cDNA is purified and exchanged into bicarbonate buffer so that the amine groups in the cDNA react with the dye N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) esters, covalently joining the dye to the cDNA. The dye-coupled cDNA is purified again, and the amount of dye incorporated per microgram of cDNA is determined.

Development of sensory systems in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moorman, S. J.

2001-01-01

Zebrafish possess all of the classic sensory modalities: taste, tactile, smell, balance, vision, and hearing. For each sensory system, this article provides a brief overview of the system in the adult zebrafish followed by a more detailed overview of the development of the system. By far the majority of studies performed in each of the sensory systems of the zebrafish have involved some aspect of molecular biology or genetics. Although molecular biology and genetics are not major foci of the paper, brief discussions of some of the mutant strains of zebrafish that have developmental defects in each specific sensory system are included. The development of the sensory systems is only a small sampling of the work being done using zebrafish and provides a mere glimpse of the potential of this model for the study of vertebrate development, physiology, and human disease.

UNUSUAL FINDINGS IN ZEBRAFISH, DANIO RERIO, FROM TOXICOLOGICAL STUDIES AND THE ZEBRAFISH INTERNATIONAL RESOURCE CENTER DIAGNOSTIC SERVICE

EPA Science Inventory

A number of interesting and unusual lesions have been diagnosed in zebrafish that have been evaluated from toxicological studies or submitted as cases to the Diagnostic Service at Oregon State University. Lesions were observed in various wild-type and mutant lines of zebrafish an...

Contextual fear conditioning in zebrafish.

PubMed

Kenney, Justin W; Scott, Ian C; Josselyn, Sheena A; Frankland, Paul W

2017-10-01

Zebrafish are a genetically tractable vertebrate that hold considerable promise for elucidating the molecular basis of behavior. Although numerous recent advances have been made in the ability to precisely manipulate the zebrafish genome, much less is known about many aspects of learning and memory in adult fish. Here, we describe the development of a contextual fear conditioning paradigm using an electric shock as the aversive stimulus. We find that contextual fear conditioning is modulated by shock intensity, prevented by an established amnestic agent (MK-801), lasts at least 14 d, and exhibits extinction. Furthermore, fish of various background strains (AB, Tu, and TL) are able to acquire fear conditioning, but differ in fear extinction rates. Taken together, we find that contextual fear conditioning in zebrafish shares many similarities with the widely used contextual fear conditioning paradigm in rodents. Combined with the amenability of genetic manipulation in zebrafish, we anticipate that our paradigm will prove to be a useful complementary system in which to examine the molecular basis of vertebrate learning and memory. © 2017 Kenney et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

Automatic multiple zebrafish larvae tracking in unconstrained microscopic video conditions.

PubMed

Wang, Xiaoying; Cheng, Eva; Burnett, Ian S; Huang, Yushi; Wlodkowic, Donald

2017-12-14

The accurate tracking of zebrafish larvae movement is fundamental to research in many biomedical, pharmaceutical, and behavioral science applications. However, the locomotive characteristics of zebrafish larvae are significantly different from adult zebrafish, where existing adult zebrafish tracking systems cannot reliably track zebrafish larvae. Further, the far smaller size differentiation between larvae and the container render the detection of water impurities inevitable, which further affects the tracking of zebrafish larvae or require very strict video imaging conditions that typically result in unreliable tracking results for realistic experimental conditions. This paper investigates the adaptation of advanced computer vision segmentation techniques and multiple object tracking algorithms to develop an accurate, efficient and reliable multiple zebrafish larvae tracking system. The proposed system has been tested on a set of single and multiple adult and larvae zebrafish videos in a wide variety of (complex) video conditions, including shadowing, labels, water bubbles and background artifacts. Compared with existing state-of-the-art and commercial multiple organism tracking systems, the proposed system improves the tracking accuracy by up to 31.57% in unconstrained video imaging conditions. To facilitate the evaluation on zebrafish segmentation and tracking research, a dataset with annotated ground truth is also presented. The software is also publicly accessible.

cDNA cloning and sequence determination of the pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide from the seabuckthorn carpenterworm, Holcocerus hippophaecolus (Lepidoptera: Cossidae).

PubMed

Li, Juan; Zhou, Jiao; Sun, Rongbo; Zhang, Haolin; Zong, Shixiang; Luo, Youqing; Sheng, Xia; Weng, Qiang

2013-04-01

The PBAN (pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide)/pyrokinin peptides comprise a major neuropeptide family characterized by a common FXPRL amide at the C-terminus. These peptides are actively involved in many essential endocrine functions. For the first time, we reported the cDNA cloning and sequence determination of the PBAN from the seabuckthorn carpenterworm, Holcocerus hippophaecolus, by using rapid amplification of cDNA ends. The full-length cDNA of Hh-DH-PBAN contained five peptides: diapause hormone (DH) homolog, α-neuropeptide (NP), β-NP, PBAN, and γ-NP. All of the peptides were amidated at their C-terminus and shared a conserved motif, FXPR (or K) L. Moreover, Hh-DH-PBAN had high homology to the other members of the PBAN peptide family: 56% with Manduca sexta, 66% with Bombyx mori, 77% with Helicoverpa zea, and 47% with Plutella xylostella. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Hh-DH-PBAN was closely related to PBANs from Noctuidae, demonstrated by the relatively higher similarity compared with H. zea. In addition, real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis showed that Hh-DH-PBAN mRNA expression peaked in the brain-subesophageal ganglion (Br-SOG) complex, and was also detected at high levels during larval and adult stages. The expression decreased significantly after pupation. These results provided information concerning molecular structure characteristics of Hh-DH-PBAN, whose expression profile suggested that the Hh-DH-PBAN gene might be correlated with larval development and sex pheromone biosynthesis in females of the H. hippophaecolus. 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Construction and characterization of a normalized cDNA library of Nannochloropsis oculata (Eustigmatophyceae)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Jianzhong; Ma, Xiaolei; Pan, Kehou; Yang, Guanpin; Yu, Wengong

2010-07-01

We constructed and characterized a normalized cDNA library of Nannochloropsis oculata CS-179, and obtained 905 nonredundant sequences (NRSs) ranging from 431-1 756 bp in length. Among them, 496 were very similar to nonredundant ones in the GenBank ( E ≤1.0e-05), and 349 ESTs had significant hits with the clusters of eukaryotic orthologous groups (KOG). Bases G and/or C at the third position of codons of 14 amino acid residues suggested a strong bias in the conserved domain of 362 NRSs (>60%). We also identified the unigenes encoding phosphorus and nitrogen transporters, suggesting that N. oculata could efficiently transport and metabolize phosphorus and nitrogen, and recognized the unigenes that involved in biosynthesis and storage of both fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), which will facilitate the demonstration of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) biosynthesis pathway of N. oculata. In comparison with the original cDNA library, the normalized library significantly increased the efficiencies of random sequencing and rarely expressed genes discovering, and decreased the frequency of abundant gene sequences.

PhOTO Zebrafish: A Transgenic Resource for In Vivo Lineage Tracing during Development and Regeneration

PubMed Central

Dempsey, William P.; Fraser, Scott E.; Pantazis, Periklis

2012-01-01

Background Elucidating the complex cell dynamics (divisions, movement, morphological changes, etc.) underlying embryonic development and adult tissue regeneration requires an efficient means to track cells with high fidelity in space and time. To satisfy this criterion, we developed a transgenic zebrafish line, called PhOTO, that allows photoconvertible optical tracking of nuclear and membrane dynamics in vivo. Methodology PhOTO zebrafish ubiquitously express targeted blue fluorescent protein (FP) Cerulean and photoconvertible FP Dendra2 fusions, allowing for instantaneous, precise targeting and tracking of any number of cells using Dendra2 photoconversion while simultaneously monitoring global cell behavior and morphology. Expression persists through adulthood, making the PhOTO zebrafish an excellent tool for studying tissue regeneration: after tail fin amputation and photoconversion of a ∼100µm stripe along the cut area, marked differences seen in how cells contribute to the new tissue give detailed insight into the dynamic process of regeneration. Photoconverted cells that contributed to the regenerate were separated into three distinct populations corresponding to the extent of cell division 7 days after amputation, and a subset of cells that divided the least were organized into an evenly spaced, linear orientation along the length of the newly regenerating fin. Conclusions/Significance PhOTO zebrafish have wide applicability for lineage tracing at the systems-level in the early embryo as well as in the adult, making them ideal candidate tools for future research in development, traumatic injury and regeneration, cancer progression, and stem cell behavior. PMID:22431986

Computerized image analysis for quantitative neuronal phenotyping in zebrafish.

PubMed

Liu, Tianming; Lu, Jianfeng; Wang, Ye; Campbell, William A; Huang, Ling; Zhu, Jinmin; Xia, Weiming; Wong, Stephen T C

2006-06-15

An integrated microscope image analysis pipeline is developed for automatic analysis and quantification of phenotypes in zebrafish with altered expression of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-linked genes. We hypothesize that a slight impairment of neuronal integrity in a large number of zebrafish carrying the mutant genotype can be detected through the computerized image analysis method. Key functionalities of our zebrafish image processing pipeline include quantification of neuron loss in zebrafish embryos due to knockdown of AD-linked genes, automatic detection of defective somites, and quantitative measurement of gene expression levels in zebrafish with altered expression of AD-linked genes or treatment with a chemical compound. These quantitative measurements enable the archival of analyzed results and relevant meta-data. The structured database is organized for statistical analysis and data modeling to better understand neuronal integrity and phenotypic changes of zebrafish under different perturbations. Our results show that the computerized analysis is comparable to manual counting with equivalent accuracy and improved efficacy and consistency. Development of such an automated data analysis pipeline represents a significant step forward to achieve accurate and reproducible quantification of neuronal phenotypes in large scale or high-throughput zebrafish imaging studies.

Designing and Testing of Self-Cleaning Recirculating Zebrafish Tanks.

PubMed

Nema, Shubham; Bhargava, Yogesh

2016-08-01

Maintenance of large number of zebrafish in captive conditions is a daunting task. This can be eased by the use of recirculating racks with self-cleaning zebrafish tanks. Commercially available systems are costly, and compatibility of intercompany products has never been investigated. Although various cost-effective designs and methods of construction of custom-made recirculating zebrafish racks are available in literature, the design of self-cleaning zebrafish tanks is still not available. In this study, we report the design and method of construction of the self-cleaning unit, which can be fitted in any zebrafish tank. We validated the design by investigating sediment cleaning process in rectangular and cylindrical tank geometries using time lapse imaging. Our results suggest that for both tank geometries, the tanks fitted with self-cleaning unit provided superior sediment cleaning than the tanks fitted with overflow-drain unit. Although the self-cleaning unit could clean the sediment completely from both geometries over prolonged period, the cleaning of sediments was faster in the cylindrical tank than the rectangular tank. In conclusion, cost and efforts of zebrafish maintenance could be significantly reduced through the installation of our self-cleaning unit in any custom-made zebrafish tank.

Genomic Approaches to Zebrafish Cancer

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

The zebrafish has emerged as an important model for studying cancer biology. Identification of DNA, RNA and chromatin abnormalities can give profound insight into the mechanisms of tumorigenesis and the there are many techniques for analyzing the genomes of these tumors. Here, I present an overview of the available technologies for analyzing tumor genomes in the zebrafish, including array based methods as well as next-generation sequencing technologies. I also discuss the ways in which zebrafish tumor genomes can be compared to human genomes using cross-species oncogenomics, which act to filter genomic noise and ultimately uncover central drivers of malignancy. Finally, I discuss downstream analytic tools, including network analysis, that can help to organize the alterations into coherent biological frameworks that can then be investigated further. PMID:27165352

cDNA library construction of two human Demodexspecies.

PubMed

Niu, DongLing; Wang, RuiLing; Zhao, YaE; Yang, Rui; Hu, Li; Lei, YuYang; Dan, WeiChao

2017-06-01

The research of Demodex, a type of pathogen causing various dermatoses in animals and human beings, is lacking at RNA level. This study aims at extracting RNA and constructing cDNA library for Demodex. First, P. cuniculiand D. farinaewere mixed to establish homogenization method for RNA extraction. Second, D. folliculorumand D. breviswere collected and preserved in Trizol, which were mixed with D. farinaerespectively to extract RNA. Finally, cDNA library was constructed and its quality was assessed. The results indicated that for D. folliculorum& D. farinae, the recombination rate of cDNA library was 90.67% and the library titer was 7.50 × 104 pfu/ml. 17 of the 59 positive clones were predicted to be of D. folliculorum; For D. brevis& D. farinae, the recombination rate was 90.96% and the library titer was 7.85 x104 pfu/ml. 40 of the 59 positive clones were predicted to be of D. brevis. Further detection by specific primers demonstrated that mtDNA cox1, cox3and ATP6 detected from cDNA libraries had 96.52%-99.73% identities with the corresponding sequences in GenBank. In conclusion, the cDNA libraries constructed for Demodexmixed with D. farinaewere successful and could satisfy the requirements for functional genes detection.

An improved and validated RNA HLA class I SBT approach for obtaining full length coding sequences.

PubMed

Gerritsen, K E H; Olieslagers, T I; Groeneweg, M; Voorter, C E M; Tilanus, M G J

2014-11-01

The functional relevance of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I allele polymorphism beyond exons 2 and 3 is difficult to address because more than 70% of the HLA class I alleles are defined by exons 2 and 3 sequences only. For routine application on clinical samples we improved and validated the HLA sequence-based typing (SBT) approach based on RNA templates, using either a single locus-specific or two overlapping group-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplifications, with three forward and three reverse sequencing reactions for full length sequencing. Locus-specific HLA typing with RNA SBT of a reference panel, representing the major antigen groups, showed identical results compared to DNA SBT typing. Alleles encountered with unknown exons in the IMGT/HLA database and three samples, two with Null and one with a Low expressed allele, have been addressed by the group-specific RNA SBT approach to obtain full length coding sequences. This RNA SBT approach has proven its value in our routine full length definition of alleles. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Zebrafish tracking using convolutional neural networks.

PubMed

Xu, Zhiping; Cheng, Xi En

2017-02-17

Keeping identity for a long term after occlusion is still an open problem in the video tracking of zebrafish-like model animals, and accurate animal trajectories are the foundation of behaviour analysis. We utilize the highly accurate object recognition capability of a convolutional neural network (CNN) to distinguish fish of the same congener, even though these animals are indistinguishable to the human eye. We used data augmentation and an iterative CNN training method to optimize the accuracy for our classification task, achieving surprisingly accurate trajectories of zebrafish of different size and age zebrafish groups over different time spans. This work will make further behaviour analysis more reliable.

Zebrafish tracking using convolutional neural networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Zhiping; Cheng, Xi En

2017-02-01

Keeping identity for a long term after occlusion is still an open problem in the video tracking of zebrafish-like model animals, and accurate animal trajectories are the foundation of behaviour analysis. We utilize the highly accurate object recognition capability of a convolutional neural network (CNN) to distinguish fish of the same congener, even though these animals are indistinguishable to the human eye. We used data augmentation and an iterative CNN training method to optimize the accuracy for our classification task, achieving surprisingly accurate trajectories of zebrafish of different size and age zebrafish groups over different time spans. This work will make further behaviour analysis more reliable.

Single-molecule, full-length transcript sequencing provides insight into the extreme metabolism of the ruby-throated hummingbird Archilochus colubris

PubMed Central

Workman, Rachael E; Myrka, Alexander M; Wong, G William; Tseng, Elizabeth

2018-01-01

Abstract Background Hummingbirds oxidize ingested nectar sugars directly to fuel foraging but cannot sustain this fuel use during fasting periods, such as during the night or during long-distance migratory flights. Instead, fasting hummingbirds switch to oxidizing stored lipids that are derived from ingested sugars. The hummingbird liver plays a key role in moderating energy homeostasis and this remarkable capacity for fuel switching. Additionally, liver is the principle location of de novo lipogenesis, which can occur at exceptionally high rates, such as during premigratory fattening. Yet understanding how this tissue and whole organism moderates energy turnover is hampered by a lack of information regarding how relevant enzymes differ in sequence, expression, and regulation. Findings We generated a de novo transcriptome of the hummingbird liver using PacBio full-length cDNA sequencing (Iso-Seq), yielding 8.6Gb of sequencing data, or 2.6M reads from 4 different size fractions. We analyzed data using the SMRTAnalysis v3.1 Iso-Seq pipeline, then clustered isoforms into gene families to generate de novo gene contigs using Cogent. We performed orthology analysis to identify closely related sequences between our transcriptome and other avian and human gene sets. Finally, we closely examined homology of critical lipid metabolism genes between our transcriptome data and avian and human genomes. Conclusions We confirmed high levels of sequence divergence within hummingbird lipogenic enzymes, suggesting a high probability of adaptive divergent function in the hepatic lipogenic pathways. Our results leverage cutting-edge technology and a novel bioinformatics pipeline to provide a first direct look at the transcriptome of this incredible organism. PMID:29618047

Zebrafish as model organisms for studying drug-induced liver injury

PubMed Central

Vliegenthart, A D Bastiaan; Tucker, Carl S; Del Pozo, Jorge; Dear, James W

2014-01-01

Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) is a major challenge in clinical medicine and drug development. New models are needed for predicting which potential therapeutic compounds will cause DILI in humans, and new markers and mediators of DILI still need to be identified. This review highlights the strengths and weaknesses of using zebrafish as a high-throughput in vivo model for studying DILI. Although the zebrafish liver architecture is different from that of the mammalian liver, the main physiological processes remain similar. Zebrafish metabolize drugs using similar pathways to those in humans; they possess a wide range of cytochrome P450 enzymes that enable metabolic reactions including hydroxylation, conjugation, oxidation, demethylation and de-ethylation. Following exposure to a range of hepatotoxic drugs, the zebrafish liver develops histological patterns of injury comparable to those of mammalian liver, and biomarkers for liver injury can be quantified in the zebrafish circulation. The zebrafish immune system is similar to that of mammals, but the zebrafish inflammatory response to DILI is not yet defined. In order to quantify DILI in zebrafish, a wide variety of methods can be used, including visual assessment, quantification of serum enzymes and experimental serum biomarkers and scoring of histopathology. With further development, the zebrafish may be a model that complements rodents and may have value for the discovery of new disease pathways and translational biomarkers. PMID:24773296

Reversal of a full-length mutant huntingtin neuronal cell phenotype by chemical inhibitors of polyglutamine-mediated aggregation

PubMed Central

Wang, Jin; Gines, Silvia; MacDonald, Marcy E; Gusella, James F

2005-01-01

Background Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder triggered by an expanded polyglutamine tract in huntingtin that is thought to confer a new conformational property on this large protein. The propensity of small amino-terminal fragments with mutant, but not wild-type, glutamine tracts to self-aggregate is consistent with an altered conformation but such fragments occur relatively late in the disease process in human patients and mouse models expressing full-length mutant protein. This suggests that the altered conformational property may act within the full-length mutant huntingtin to initially trigger pathogenesis. Indeed, genotype-phenotype studies in HD have defined genetic criteria for the disease initiating mechanism, and these are all fulfilled by phenotypes associated with expression of full-length mutant huntingtin, but not amino-terminal fragment, in mouse models. As the in vitro aggregation of amino-terminal mutant huntingtin fragment offers a ready assay to identify small compounds that interfere with the conformation of the polyglutamine tract, we have identified a number of aggregation inhibitors, and tested whether these are also capable of reversing a phenotype caused by endogenous expression of mutant huntingtin in a striatal cell line from the HdhQ111/Q111 knock-in mouse. Results We screened the NINDS Custom Collection of 1,040 FDA approved drugs and bioactive compounds for their ability to prevent in vitro aggregation of Q58-htn 1–171 amino terminal fragment. Ten compounds were identified that inhibited aggregation with IC50 < 15 μM, including gossypol, gambogic acid, juglone, celastrol, sanguinarine and anthralin. Of these, both juglone and celastrol were effective in reversing the abnormal cellular localization of full-length mutant huntingtin observed in mutant HdhQ111/Q111 striatal cells. Conclusions At least some compounds identified as aggregation inhibitors also prevent a neuronal cellular phenotype caused

Heart Repair and Regeneration: Recent Insights from Zebrafish Studies

PubMed Central

Lien, Ching-Ling; Harrison, Michael R.; Tuan, Tai-Lan; Starnes, Vaughn A

2012-01-01

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in United States and worldwide. Failure to properly repair or regenerate damaged cardiac tissues after myocardial infarction is a major cause of heart failure. In contrast to humans and other mammals, zebrafish hearts regenerate after substantial injury or tissue damage. Here, we review recent progress in studying zebrafish heart regeneration, addressing the molecular and cellular responses in the three tissue layers of the heart: myocardium, epicardium, and endocardium. We also compare different injury models utilized to study zebrafish heart regeneration, and discuss the differences in responses to injury between mammalian and zebrafish hearts. By learning how zebrafish hearts regenerate naturally, we can better design therapeutic strategies for repairing human hearts after myocardial infarction. PMID:22818295

The zebrafish genome: a review and msx gene case study.

PubMed

Postlethwait, J H

2006-01-01

Zebrafish is one of several important teleost models for understanding principles of vertebrate developmental, molecular, organismal, genetic, evolutionary, and genomic biology. Efficient investigation of the molecular genetic basis of induced mutations depends on knowledge of the zebrafish genome. Principles of zebrafish genomic analysis, including gene mapping, ortholog identification, conservation of syntenies, genome duplication, and evolution of duplicate gene function are discussed here using as a case study the zebrafish msxa, msxb, msxc, msxd, and msxe genes, which together constitute zebrafish orthologs of tetrapod Msx1, Msx2, and Msx3. Genomic analysis suggests orthologs for this difficult to understand group of paralogs.

Biosecurity and Health Monitoring at the Zebrafish International Resource Center

PubMed Central

Varga, Zoltán M.; Kent, Michael L.

2016-01-01

Abstract The Zebrafish International Resource Center (ZIRC) is a repository and distribution center for mutant, transgenic, and wild-type zebrafish. In recent years annual imports of new zebrafish lines to ZIRC have increased tremendously. In addition, after 15 years of research, we have identified some of the most virulent pathogens affecting zebrafish that should be avoided in large production facilities, such as ZIRC. Therefore, while importing a high volume of new lines we prioritize safeguarding the health of our in-house fish colony. Here, we describe the biosecurity and health-monitoring program implemented at ZIRC. This strategy was designed to prevent introduction of new zebrafish pathogens, minimize pathogens already present in the facility, and ensure a healthy zebrafish colony for in-house uses and shipment to customers. PMID:27031282

Advancing epilepsy treatment through personalized genetic zebrafish models.

PubMed

Griffin, A; Krasniak, C; Baraban, S C

2016-01-01

With an increase in the number of disease causing genetic mutations identified from epilepsy cohorts, zebrafish are proving to be an attractive vertebrate model for functional analysis of these allele variants. Not only do zebrafish have conserved gene functions, but larvae harboring mutations in identified human epileptic genes show spontaneous seizure activity and mimic the convulsive behavioral movements observed in humans. With zebrafish being compatible with medium to high-throughput screening, they are also proving to be a unique and powerful system for early preclinical drug screening, including novel target identification, pharmacology, and toxicology. Additionally, with recent advances in genomic engineering technologies, it is now possible to study the precise pathophysiology of patient-specific gene mutations in zebrafish. The following sections highlight how the unique attributes of zebrafish, in combination with genetic modifications, are continuing to transform our understanding of epilepsy and help identify personalized therapeutics for specific patient cohorts. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Examination of a Palatogenic Gene Program in Zebrafish

PubMed Central

Swartz, Mary E.; Sheehan-Rooney, Kelly; Dixon, Michael J.; Eberhart, Johann K.

2011-01-01

Human palatal clefting is debilitating and difficult to rectify surgically. Animal models enhance our understanding of palatogenesis and are essential in strategies designed to ameliorate palatal malformations in humans. Recent studies have shown that the zebrafish palate, or anterior neurocranium, is under similar genetic control to the amniote palatal skeleton. We extensively analyzed palatogenesis in zebrafish to determine the similarity of gene expression and function across vertebrates. By 36 hpf palatogenic cranial neural crest cells reside in homologous regions of the developing face compared to amniote species. Transcription factors and signaling molecules regulating mouse palatogenesis are expressed in similar domains during palatogenesis in zebrafish. Functional investigation of a subset of these genes, fgf10a, tgfb2, pax9 and smad5 revealed their necessity in zebrafish palatogenesis. Collectively, these results suggest that the gene regulatory networks regulating palatogenesis may be conserved across vertebrate species, demonstrating the utility of zebrafish as a model for palatogenesis. PMID:22016187

Systematic approaches to toxicology in the zebrafish.

PubMed

Peterson, Randall T; Macrae, Calum A

2012-01-01

As the current paradigms of drug discovery evolve, it has become clear that a more comprehensive understanding of the interactions between small molecules and organismal biology will be vital. The zebrafish is emerging as a complement to existing in vitro technologies and established preclinical in vivo models that can be scaled for high-throughput. In this review, we highlight the current status of zebrafish toxicology studies, identify potential future niches for the model in the drug development pipeline, and define the hurdles that must be overcome as zebrafish technologies are refined for systematic toxicology.

Wnt-regulated dynamics of positional information in zebrafish somitogenesis

PubMed Central

Bajard, Lola; Morelli, Luis G.; Ares, Saúl; Pécréaux, Jacques; Jülicher, Frank; Oates, Andrew C.

2014-01-01

How signaling gradients supply positional information in a field of moving cells is an unsolved question in patterning and morphogenesis. Here, we ask how a Wnt signaling gradient regulates the dynamics of a wavefront of cellular change in a flow of cells during somitogenesis. Using time-controlled perturbations of Wnt signaling in the zebrafish embryo, we changed segment length without altering the rate of somite formation or embryonic elongation. This result implies specific Wnt regulation of the wavefront velocity. The observed Wnt signaling gradient dynamics and timing of downstream events support a model for wavefront regulation in which cell flow plays a dominant role in transporting positional information. PMID:24595291

Zebrafish models in neuropsychopharmacology and CNS drug discovery.

PubMed

Khan, Kanza M; Collier, Adam D; Meshalkina, Darya A; Kysil, Elana V; Khatsko, Sergey L; Kolesnikova, Tatyana; Morzherin, Yury Yu; Warnick, Jason E; Kalueff, Allan V; Echevarria, David J

2017-07-01

Despite the high prevalence of neuropsychiatric disorders, their aetiology and molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is increasingly utilized as a powerful animal model in neuropharmacology research and in vivo drug screening. Collectively, this makes zebrafish a useful tool for drug discovery and the identification of disordered molecular pathways. Here, we discuss zebrafish models of selected human neuropsychiatric disorders and drug-induced phenotypes. As well as covering a broad range of brain disorders (from anxiety and psychoses to neurodegeneration), we also summarize recent developments in zebrafish genetics and small molecule screening, which markedly enhance the disease modelling and the discovery of novel drug targets. © 2017 The British Pharmacological Society.

Escaping introns in COI through cDNA barcoding of mushrooms: Pleurotus as a test case.

PubMed

Avin, Farhat A; Subha, Bhassu; Tan, Yee-Shin; Braukmann, Thomas W A; Vikineswary, Sabaratnam; Hebert, Paul D N

2017-09-01

DNA barcoding involves the use of one or more short, standardized DNA fragments for the rapid identification of species. A 648-bp segment near the 5' terminus of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene has been adopted as the universal DNA barcode for members of the animal kingdom, but its utility in mushrooms is complicated by the frequent occurrence of large introns. As a consequence, ITS has been adopted as the standard DNA barcode marker for mushrooms despite several shortcomings. This study employed newly designed primers coupled with cDNA analysis to examine COI sequence diversity in six species of Pleurotus and compared these results with those for ITS. The ability of the COI gene to discriminate six species of Pleurotus , the commonly cultivated oyster mushroom, was examined by analysis of cDNA. The amplification success, sequence variation within and among species, and the ability to design effective primers was tested. We compared ITS sequences to their COI cDNA counterparts for all isolates. ITS discriminated between all six species, but some sequence results were uninterpretable, because of length variation among ITS copies. By comparison, a complete COI sequences were recovered from all but three individuals of Pleurotus giganteus where only the 5' region was obtained. The COI sequences permitted the resolution of all species when partial data was excluded for P. giganteus . Our results suggest that COI can be a useful barcode marker for mushrooms when cDNA analysis is adopted, permitting identifications in cases where ITS cannot be recovered or where it offers higher resolution when fresh tissue is. The suitability of this approach remains to be confirmed for other mushrooms.

Factors Influencing the Production of MFSV Full-Length Clone: Maize Fine Streak Virus Proteins in Drosophila S2 Cells

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Maize fine streak virus (MFSV) is negative-sense RNA virus member of the genus Nucleorhabdovirus. Our goal is to determine whether Drosophila S2 cells can support the production of a full-length clone of MFSV. We have previously demonstrated that the full-length MFSV nucleoprotein (N) and phosphopro...

Design, fabrication, and testing of an external fuel (UO2), full-length thermionic converter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schock, A.; Raab, B.

1971-01-01

The development of a full-length external-fuel thermionic converter for in-pile testing is described. The development program includes out-of-pile performance testing of the fully fueled-converter, using RF-induction heating, before its installation in the in-pile test capsule. The external-fuel converter is cylindrical in shape, and consists of an inner, centrally cooled collector, and an outer emitter surrounded by nuclear fuel. The term full-length denotes that the converter is long enough to extend over the full height of the reactor core. Thus, the converter is not a scaled-down test device, but a full-scale fuel element of the thermionic reactor. The external-fuel converter concept permits a number of different design options, particularly with respect to the fuel composition and shape, and the collector cooling arrangement. The converter described was developed for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and is based on their concept for a thermionic reactor with uninsulated collector cooling as previously described. The converter is double-ended, with through-flow cooling, and with ceramic seals and emitter and collector power take-offs at both ends. The design uses a revolver-shaped tungsten emitter body, with the central emitter hole surrounded by six peripheral fuel holes loaded with cylindrical UO2 pellets.

Incorporating zebrafish omics into chemical biology and toxicology.

PubMed

Sukardi, Hendrian; Ung, Choong Yong; Gong, Zhiyuan; Lam, Siew Hong

2010-03-01

In this communication, we describe the general aspects of omics approaches for analyses of transcriptome, proteome, and metabolome, and how they can be strategically incorporated into chemical screening and perturbation studies using the zebrafish system. Pharmacological efficacy and selectivity of chemicals can be evaluated based on chemical-induced phenotypic effects; however, phenotypic observation has limitations in identifying mechanistic action of chemicals. We suggest adapting gene-expression-based high-throughput screening as a complementary strategy to zebrafish-phenotype-based screening for mechanistic insights about the mode of action and toxicity of a chemical, large-scale predictive applications and comparative analysis of chemical-induced omics signatures, which are useful to identify conserved biological responses, signaling pathways, and biomarkers. The potential mechanistic, predictive, and comparative applications of omics approaches can be implemented in the zebrafish system. Examples of these using the omics approaches in zebrafish, including data of ours and others, are presented and discussed. Omics also facilitates the translatability of zebrafish studies across species through comparison of conserved chemical-induced responses. This review is intended to update interested readers with the current omics approaches that have been applied in chemical studies on zebrafish and their potential in enhancing discovery in chemical biology.

Mapping the zebrafish brain methylome using reduced representation bisulfite sequencing

PubMed Central

Chatterjee, Aniruddha; Ozaki, Yuichi; Stockwell, Peter A; Horsfield, Julia A; Morison, Ian M; Nakagawa, Shinichi

2013-01-01

Reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) has been used to profile DNA methylation patterns in mammalian genomes such as human, mouse and rat. The methylome of the zebrafish, an important animal model, has not yet been characterized at base-pair resolution using RRBS. Therefore, we evaluated the technique of RRBS in this model organism by generating four single-nucleotide resolution DNA methylomes of adult zebrafish brain. We performed several simulations to show the distribution of fragments and enrichment of CpGs in different in silico reduced representation genomes of zebrafish. Four RRBS brain libraries generated 98 million sequenced reads and had higher frequencies of multiple mapping than equivalent human RRBS libraries. The zebrafish methylome indicates there is higher global DNA methylation in the zebrafish genome compared with its equivalent human methylome. This observation was confirmed by RRBS of zebrafish liver. High coverage CpG dinucleotides are enriched in CpG island shores more than in the CpG island core. We found that 45% of the mapped CpGs reside in gene bodies, and 7% in gene promoters. This analysis provides a roadmap for generating reproducible base-pair level methylomes for zebrafish using RRBS and our results provide the first evidence that RRBS is a suitable technique for global methylation analysis in zebrafish. PMID:23975027

Cloning, characterization and functional analysis of a 1-FEH cDNA from Vernonia herbacea (Vell.) Rusby.

PubMed

Asega, Amanda Francine; do Nascimento, João Roberto O; Schroeven, Lindsey; Van den Ende, Wim; Carvalho, Maria Angela M

2008-08-01

Variations in the inulin contents have been detected in rhizophores of Vernonia herbacea during the phenological cycle. These variations indicate the occurrence of active inulin synthesis and depolymerization throughout the cycle and a role for this carbohydrate as a reserve compound. 1-Fructan exohydrolase (1-FEH) is the enzyme responsible for inulin depolymerization, and its activity has been detected in rhizophores of sprouting plants. Defoliation and low temperature are enhancer conditions of this 1-FEH activity. The aim of the present work was the cloning of this enzyme. Rhizophores were collected from plants induced to sprout, followed by storage at 5 degrees C. A full length 1-FEH cDNA sequence was obtained by PCR and inverse PCR techniques, and expressed in Pichia pastoris. Cold storage enhances FEH gene expression. Vh1-FEH was shown to be a functional 1-FEH, hydrolyzing predominantly beta-2,1 linkages, sharing high identity with chicory FEH sequences, and its activity was inhibited by 81% in the presence of 10 mM sucrose. In V. herbacea, low temperature and sucrose play a role in the control of fructan degradation. This is the first study concerning the cloning and functional analysis of a 1-FEH cDNA of a native species from the Brazilian Cerrado. Results will contribute to understanding the role of fructans in the establishment of a very successful fructan flora of the Brazilian Cerrado, subjected to water limitation and low temperature during winter.

Cloning and Expression of cDNA for Rat Heme Oxygenase

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shibahara, Shigeki; Muller, Rita; Taguchi, Hayao; Yoshida, Tadashi

1985-12-01

Two cDNA clones for rat heme oxygenase have been isolated from a rat spleen cDNA library in λ gt11 by immunological screening using a specific polyclonal antibody. One of these clones has an insert of 1530 nucleotides that contains the entire protein-coding region. To confirm that the isolated cDNA encodes heme oxygenase, we transfected monkey kidney cells (COS-7) with the cDNA carried in a simian virus 40 vector. The heme oxygenase was highly expressed in endoplasmic reticulum of transfected cells. The nucleotide sequence of the cloned cDNA was determined and the primary structure of heme oxygenase was deduced. Heme oxygenase is composed of 289 amino acids and has one hydrophobic segment at its carboxyl terminus, which is probably important for the insertion of heme oxygenase into endoplasmic reticulum. The cloned cDNA was used to analyze the induction of heme oxygenase in rat liver by treatment with CoCl2 or with hemin. RNA blot analysis showed that both CoCl2 and hemin increased the amount of hybridizable mRNA, suggesting that these substances may act at the transcriptional level to increase the amount of heme oxygenase.

Sequence characterization of cDNA sequence of encoding of an antimicrobial Peptide with no disulfide bridge from the Iranian mesobuthus eupeus venomous glands.

PubMed

Farajzadeh-Sheikh, Ahmad; Jolodar, Abbas; Ghaemmaghami, Shamsedin

2013-01-01

Scorpion venom glands produce some antimicrobial peptides (AMP) that can rapidly kill a broad range of microbes and have additional activities that impact on the quality and effectiveness of innate responses and inflammation. In this study, we reported the identification of a cDNA sequence encoding cysteine-free antimicrobial peptides isolated from venomous glands of this species. Total RNA was extracted from the Iranian mesobuthus eupeus venom glands, and cDNA was synthesized by using the modified oligo (dT). The cDNA was used as the template for applying Semi-nested RT- PCR technique. PCR Products were used for direct nucleotide sequencing and the results were compared with Gen Bank database. A 213 BP cDNA fragment encoding the entire coding region of an antimicrobial toxin from the Iranian scorpion M. Eupeus venom glands were isolated. The full-length sequence of the coding region was 210 BP contained an open reading frame of 70 amino with a predicted molecular mass of 7970.48 Da and theoretical Pi of 9.10. The open reading frame consists of 210 BP encoding a precursor of 70 amino acid residues, including a signal peptide of 23 residues a propertied of 7 residues, and a mature peptide of 34 residues with no disulfide bridge. The peptide has detectable sequence identity to the Lesser Asian mesobuthus eupeus MeVAMP-2 (98%), MeVAMP-9 (60%) and several previously described AMPs from other scorpion venoms including mesobuthus martensii (94%) and buthus occitanus Israelis (82%). The secondary structure of the peptide mainly consisted of α-helical structure which was generally conserved by previously reported scorpion counterparts. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the Iranian MeAMP-like toxin was similar but not identical with that of venom antimicrobial peptides from lesser Asian scorpion mesobuthus eupeus.

Zebrafish models for the functional genomics of neurogenetic disorders.

PubMed

Kabashi, Edor; Brustein, Edna; Champagne, Nathalie; Drapeau, Pierre

2011-03-01

In this review, we consider recent work using zebrafish to validate and study the functional consequences of mutations of human genes implicated in a broad range of degenerative and developmental disorders of the brain and spinal cord. Also we present technical considerations for those wishing to study their own genes of interest by taking advantage of this easily manipulated and clinically relevant model organism. Zebrafish permit mutational analyses of genetic function (gain or loss of function) and the rapid validation of human variants as pathological mutations. In particular, neural degeneration can be characterized at genetic, cellular, functional, and behavioral levels. Zebrafish have been used to knock down or express mutations in zebrafish homologs of human genes and to directly express human genes bearing mutations related to neurodegenerative disorders such as spinal muscular atrophy, ataxia, hereditary spastic paraplegia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), epilepsy, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, fronto-temporal dementia, and Alzheimer's disease. More recently, we have been using zebrafish to validate mutations of synaptic genes discovered by large-scale genomic approaches in developmental disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, and non-syndromic mental retardation. Advances in zebrafish genetics such as multigenic analyses and chemical genetics now offer a unique potential for disease research. Thus, zebrafish hold much promise for advancing the functional genomics of human diseases, the understanding of the genetics and cell biology of degenerative and developmental disorders, and the discovery of therapeutics. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Zebrafish Models of Neurological Diseases. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Morphologic analysis of the zebrafish digestive system.

PubMed

Trotter, Andrew J; Parslow, Adam C; Heath, Joan K

2009-01-01

The zebrafish provides an ideal model for the study of vertebrate organogenesis, including the formation of the digestive tract and its associated organs. Despite optical transparency of embryos, the internal position of the developing digestive system and its close juxtaposition with the yolk initially made morphological analysis relatively challenging, particularly during the first 3 d of development. However, methodologies have been successfully developed to address these problems and comprehensive morphologic analysis of the developing digestive system has now been achieved using a combination of light and fluorescence microscope approaches-including confocal analysis-to visualize wholemount and histological preparations of zebrafish embryos. Furthermore, the expanding number of antibodies that cross-react with zebrafish proteins and the generation of tissue-specific transgenic green fluorescent protein reporter lines that mark specific cell and tissue compartments have greatly enhanced our ability to successfully image the developing zebrafish digestive system.

Open-RAC: Open-Design, Recirculating and Auto-Cleaning Zebrafish Maintenance System.

PubMed

Nema, Shubham; Bhargava, Yogesh

2017-08-01

Zebrafish is a vertebrate animal model. Their maintenance in large number under laboratory conditions is a daunting task. Commercially available recirculating zebrafish maintenance systems are used to efficiently handle the tasks of automatic sediment cleaning from zebrafish tanks with minimal waste of water. Due to their compact nature, they also ensure the maximal use of available lab space. However, the high costs of commercial systems present a limitation to researchers with limited funds. A cost-effective zebrafish maintenance system with major features offered by commercially available systems is highly desirable. Here, we describe a compact and recirculating zebrafish maintenance system. Our system is composed of cost-effective components, which are available in local markets and/or can be procured via online vendors. Depending on the expertise of end users, the system can be assembled in 2 days. The system is completely customizable as it offers geometry independent zebrafish tanks that are capable of auto-cleaning the sediments. Due to these features, we called our setup as Open-RAC (Open-design, Recirculating and Auto-Cleaning zebrafish maintenance system). Open-RAC is a cost-effective and viable alternative to the currently available zebrafish maintenance systems. Thus, we believe that the use of Open-RAC could promote the zebrafish research by removing the cost barrier for researchers.

Transvection Arising from Transgene Interactions in Zebrafish.

PubMed

Keefe, Matthew D; Bonkowsky, Joshua L

2017-02-01

There has been a rapid expansion in use of transgenic technologies in zebrafish. We report a novel example of transinteractions of genetic elements, or transvection. This interaction led to a novel expression pattern and illustrates a precautionary example regarding use of transgenes in zebrafish.

Behavioural fever in zebrafish larvae.

PubMed

Rey, Sonia; Moiche, Visila; Boltaña, Sebastian; Teles, Mariana; MacKenzie, Simon

2017-02-01

Behavioural fever has been reported in different species of mobile ectotherms including the zebrafish, Danio rerio, in response to exogenous pyrogens. In this study we report, to our knowledge for the first time, upon the ontogenic onset of behavioural fever in zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae. For this, zebrafish larvae (from first feeding to juveniles) were placed in a continuous thermal gradient providing the opportunity to select their preferred temperature. The novel thermal preference aquarium was based upon a continuous vertical column system and allows for non-invasive observation of larvae vertical distribution under isothermal (T R at 28 °C) and thermal gradient conditions (T CH : 28-32 °C). Larval thermal preference was assessed under both conditions with or without an immersion challenge, in order to detect the onset of the behavioural fever response. Our results defined the onset of the dsRNA induced behavioural fever at 18-20 days post fertilization (dpf). Significant differences were observed in dsRNA challenged larvae, which prefer higher temperatures (1-4 °C increase) throughout the experimental period as compared to non-challenged larvae. In parallel we measured the abundance of antiviral transcripts; viperin, gig2, irf7, trim25 and Mxb mRNAs in dsRNA challenged larvae under both thermal regimes: T R and T Ch . Significant increases in the abundance of all measured transcripts were recorded under thermal choice conditions signifying that thermo-coupling and the resultant enhancement of the immune response to dsRNA challenge occurs from 18 dpf onwards in the zebrafish. The results are of importance as they identify a key developmental stage where the neuro-immune interface matures in the zebrafish likely providing increased resistance to viral infection. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Full-length soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor down-modulates nephrin expression in podocytes

PubMed Central

Alfano, Massimo; Cinque, Paola; Giusti, Guido; Proietti, Silvia; Nebuloni, Manuela; Danese, Silvio; D’Alessio, Silvia; Genua, Marco; Portale, Federica; Lo Porto, Manuela; Singhal, Pravin C.; Rastaldi, Maria Pia; Saleem, Moin A.; Mavilio, Domenico; Mikulak, Joanna

2015-01-01

Increased plasma level of soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) was associated recently with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). In addition, different clinical studies observed increased concentration of suPAR in various glomerular diseases and in other human pathologies with nephrotic syndromes such as HIV and Hantavirus infection, diabetes and cardiovascular disorders. Here, we show that suPAR induces nephrin down-modulation in human podocytes. This phenomenon is mediated only by full-length suPAR, is time-and dose-dependent and is associated with the suppression of Wilms’ tumor 1 (WT-1) transcription factor expression. Moreover, an antagonist of αvβ3 integrin RGDfv blocked suPAR-induced suppression of nephrin. These in vitro data were confirmed in an in vivo uPAR knock out Plaur−/− mice model by demonstrating that the infusion of suPAR inhibits expression of nephrin and WT-1 in podocytes and induces proteinuria. This study unveiled that interaction of full-length suPAR with αvβ3 integrin expressed on podocytes results in down-modulation of nephrin that may affect kidney functionality in different human pathologies characterized by increased concentration of suPAR. PMID:26380915

Zebrafish models for translational neuroscience research: from tank to bedside

PubMed Central

Stewart, Adam Michael; Braubach, Oliver; Spitsbergen, Jan; Gerlai, Robert; Kalueff, Allan V.

2014-01-01

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is emerging as a new important species for studying mechanisms of brain function and dysfunction. Focusing on selected central nervous system (CNS) disorders (brain cancer, epilepsy, and anxiety) and using them as examples, we discuss the value of zebrafish models in translational neuroscience. We further evaluate the contribution of zebrafish to neuroimaging, circuit level, and drug discovery research. Outlining the role of zebrafish in modeling a wide range of human brain disorders, we also summarize recent applications and existing challenges in this field. Finally, we emphasize the potential of zebrafish models in behavioral phenomics and high-throughput genetic/small molecule screening, which is critical for CNS drug discovery and identifying novel candidate genes. PMID:24726051

Effects of dietary exposure to brominated flame retardant BDE-47 on thyroid condition, gonadal development and growth of zebrafish

USGS Publications Warehouse

Torres, Leticia; Orazio, Carl E.; Peterman, Paul H.; Patino, Reynaldo

2013-01-01

Little is known about the effects of brominated flame retardants in teleosts and some of the information currently available is inconsistent. This study examined effects of dietary exposure to 2,2′,4,4′-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) on thyroid condition, body mass and size, and gonadal development of zebrafish. Pubertal, 49-day-old (posthatch) fish were fed diets without BDE-47 (control) or with 1, 5 or 25 μg/g BDE-47/diet. Treatments were conducted in triplicate 30-L tanks each containing 50 zebrafish, and 15 fish per treatment (5 per tank) were sampled at days 40, 80 and 120 of exposure. Measurements were taken of body mass, standard length, head depth and head length. Sex (at 40–120 days of exposure), germ cell stage (at 40 days) and thyroid condition (at 120 days; follicular cell height, colloid depletion, angiogenesis) were histologically determined. Whole-body BDE-47 levels at study completion were within the high end of levels reported in environmentally exposed (wild) fishes. Analysis of variance was used to determine differences among treatments at each sampling time. No effects were observed on thyroid condition or germ cell stage in either sex. Reduced head length was observed in females exposed to BDE-47 at 80 days but not at 40 or 120 days. In males, no apparent effects of BDE-47 were observed at 40 and 80 days, but fish exposed to 25 μg/g had lower body mass at 120 days compared to control fish. These observations suggest that BDE-47 at environmentally relevant whole-body concentrations does not affect thyroid condition or pubertal development of zebrafish but does affect growth during the juvenile-to-adult transition, especially in males.

Effects of dietary exposure to brominated flame retardant BDE-47 on thyroid condition, gonadal development and growth of zebrafish.

PubMed

Torres, Leticia; Orazio, Carl E; Peterman, Paul H; Patiño, Reynaldo

2013-10-01

Little is known about the effects of brominated flame retardants in teleosts and some of the information currently available is inconsistent. This study examined effects of dietary exposure to 2,2',4,4'-tetrabromodiphenyl ether (BDE-47) on thyroid condition, body mass and size, and gonadal development of zebrafish. Pubertal, 49-day-old (posthatch) fish were fed diets without BDE-47 (control) or with 1, 5 or 25 μg/g BDE-47/diet. Treatments were conducted in triplicate 30-L tanks each containing 50 zebrafish, and 15 fish per treatment (5 per tank) were sampled at days 40, 80 and 120 of exposure. Measurements were taken of body mass, standard length, head depth and head length. Sex (at 40-120 days of exposure), germ cell stage (at 40 days) and thyroid condition (at 120 days; follicular cell height, colloid depletion, angiogenesis) were histologically determined. Whole-body BDE-47 levels at study completion were within the high end of levels reported in environmentally exposed (wild) fishes. Analysis of variance was used to determine differences among treatments at each sampling time. No effects were observed on thyroid condition or germ cell stage in either sex. Reduced head length was observed in females exposed to BDE-47 at 80 days but not at 40 or 120 days. In males, no apparent effects of BDE-47 were observed at 40 and 80 days, but fish exposed to 25 μg/g had lower body mass at 120 days compared to control fish. These observations suggest that BDE-47 at environmentally relevant whole-body concentrations does not affect thyroid condition or pubertal development of zebrafish but does affect growth during the juvenile-to-adult transition, especially in males.

Characterization of behavioral and endocrine effects of LSD on zebrafish.

PubMed

Grossman, Leah; Utterback, Eli; Stewart, Adam; Gaikwad, Siddharth; Chung, Kyung Min; Suciu, Christopher; Wong, Keith; Elegante, Marco; Elkhayat, Salem; Tan, Julia; Gilder, Thomas; Wu, Nadine; Dileo, John; Cachat, Jonathan; Kalueff, Allan V

2010-12-25

Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a potent hallucinogenic drug that strongly affects animal and human behavior. Although adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) are emerging as a promising neurobehavioral model, the effects of LSD on zebrafish have not been investigated previously. Several behavioral paradigms (the novel tank, observation cylinder, light-dark box, open field, T-maze, social preference and shoaling tests), as well as modern video-tracking tools and whole-body cortisol assay were used to characterize the effects of acute LSD in zebrafish. While lower doses (5-100 microg/L) did not affect zebrafish behavior, 250 microg/L LSD increased top dwelling and reduced freezing in the novel tank and observation cylinder tests, also affecting spatiotemporal patterns of activity (as assessed by 3D reconstruction of zebrafish traces and ethograms). LSD evoked mild thigmotaxis in the open field test, increased light behavior in the light-dark test, reduced the number of arm entries and freezing in the T-maze and social preference test, without affecting social preference. In contrast, LSD affected zebrafish shoaling (increasing the inter-fish distance in a group), and elevated whole-body cortisol levels. Overall, our findings show sensitivity of zebrafish to LSD action, and support the use of zebrafish models to study hallucinogenic drugs of abuse. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

15 years of zebrafish chemical screening

PubMed Central

Rennekamp, Andrew J.; Peterson, Randall T.

2015-01-01

In 2000, the first chemical screen using living zebrafish in a multi-well plate was reported. Since then, more than 60 additional screens have been published describing whole-organism drug and pathway discovery projects in zebrafish. To investigate the scope of the work reported in the last 14 years and to identify trends in the field, we analyzed the discovery strategies of 64 primary research articles from the literature. We found that zebrafish screens have expanded beyond the use of developmental phenotypes to include behavioral, cardiac, metabolic, proliferative and regenerative endpoints. Additionally, many creative strategies have been used to uncover the mechanisms of action of new small molecules including chemical phenocopy, genetic phenocopy, mutant rescue, and spatial localization strategies. PMID:25461724

Differences in Acute Alcohol-Induced Behavioral Responses Among Zebrafish Populations

PubMed Central

Gerlai, Robert; Ahmad, Fahad; Prajapati, Sonal

2009-01-01

Background With the arsenal of genetic tools available for zebrafish, this species has been successfully used to investigate the genetic aspects of human diseases from developmental disorders to cancer. Interest in the behavior and brain function of zebrafish is also increasing as CNS disorders may be modeled and studied with this species. Alcoholism and alcohol abuse are among the most devastating and costliest diseases. However, the mechanisms of these diseases are not fully understood. Zebrafish has been proposed as a model organism to study such mechanisms. Characterization of alcohol’s effects on zebrafish is a necessary step in this research. Methods Here, we compare the effects of acute alcohol (EtOH) administration on the behavior of zebrafish from 4 distinct laboratory-bred populations using automated as well as observation based behavioral quantification methods. Results Alcohol treatment resulted in significant dose-dependent behavioral changes but the dose–response trajectories differed among zebrafish populations. Conclusions The results demonstrate for the first time a genetic component in alcohol responses in adult zebrafish and also show the feasibility of high throughput behavioral screening. We discuss the exploration and exploitation of the genetic differences found. PMID:18652595

The Effect of Chronic Arsenic Exposure in Zebrafish

PubMed Central

Hallauer, Janell; Geng, Xiangrong; Yang, Hung-Chi; Shen, Jian; Tsai, Kan-Jen

2016-01-01

Abstract Arsenic is a prevalent environmental toxin and a Group one human carcinogenic agent. Chronic arsenic exposure has been associated with many human diseases. The aim of this study is to evaluate zebrafish as an animal model to assess arsenic toxicity in elevated long-term arsenic exposure. With prolonged exposure (6 months) to various concentrations of arsenic from 50 ppb to 300 ppb, effects of arsenic accumulation in zebrafish tissues, and phenotypes were investigated. Results showed that there are no significant changes of arsenic retention in zebrafish tissues, and zebrafish did not exhibit any visible tumor formation under arsenic exposure conditions. However, the zebrafish demonstrate a dysfunction in their neurological system, which is reflected by a reduction of locomotive activity. Moreover, elevated levels of the superoxide dismutase (SOD2) protein were detected in the eye and liver, suggesting increased oxidative stress. In addition, the progenies of arsenic-treated parents displayed a smaller biomass (four-fold reduction in body weight) compared with those from their parental controls. This result indicates that arsenic may induce genetic or epigenetic changes that are then passed on to the next generation. Overall, this study demonstrates that zebrafish is a convenient vertebrate model with advantages in the evaluation of arsenic-associated neurological disorders as well as its influences on the offspring. PMID:27140519

Zebrafish sex: a complicated affair

PubMed Central

Liew, Woei Chang

2014-01-01

In this review, we provide a detailed overview of studies on the elusive sex determination (SD) and gonad differentiation mechanisms of zebrafish (Danio rerio). We show that the data obtained from most studies are compatible with polygenic sex determination (PSD), where the decision is made by the allelic combinations of several loci. These loci are typically dispersed throughout the genome, but in some teleost species a few of them might be located on a preferential pair of (sex) chromosomes. The PSD system has a much higher level of variation of SD genotypes both at the level of gametes and the sexual genotype of individuals, than that of the chromosomal sex determination systems. The early sexual development of zebrafish males is a complicated process, as they first develop a ‘juvenile ovary’, that later undergoes a transformation to give way to a testis. To date, three major developmental pathways were shown to be involved with gonad differentiation through the modulation of programmed cell death. In our opinion, there are more pathways participating in the regulation of zebrafish gonad differentiation/transformation. Introduction of additional powerful large-scale genomic approaches into the analysis of zebrafish reproduction will result in further deepening of our knowledge as well as identification of additional pathways and genes associated with these processes in the near future. PMID:24148942

Zebrafish Models for Human Acute Organophosphorus Poisoning.

PubMed

Faria, Melissa; Garcia-Reyero, Natàlia; Padrós, Francesc; Babin, Patrick J; Sebastián, David; Cachot, Jérôme; Prats, Eva; Arick Ii, Mark; Rial, Eduardo; Knoll-Gellida, Anja; Mathieu, Guilaine; Le Bihanic, Florane; Escalon, B Lynn; Zorzano, Antonio; Soares, Amadeu M V M; Raldúa, Demetrio

2015-10-22

Terrorist use of organophosphorus-based nerve agents and toxic industrial chemicals against civilian populations constitutes a real threat, as demonstrated by the terrorist attacks in Japan in the 1990 s or, even more recently, in the Syrian civil war. Thus, development of more effective countermeasures against acute organophosphorus poisoning is urgently needed. Here, we have generated and validated zebrafish models for mild, moderate and severe acute organophosphorus poisoning by exposing zebrafish larvae to different concentrations of the prototypic organophosphorus compound chlorpyrifos-oxon. Our results show that zebrafish models mimic most of the pathophysiological mechanisms behind this toxidrome in humans, including acetylcholinesterase inhibition, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activation, and calcium dysregulation as well as inflammatory and immune responses. The suitability of the zebrafish larvae to in vivo high-throughput screenings of small molecule libraries makes these models a valuable tool for identifying new drugs for multifunctional drug therapy against acute organophosphorus poisoning.

Live imaging of apoptotic cells in zebrafish

PubMed Central

van Ham, Tjakko J.; Mapes, James; Kokel, David; Peterson, Randall T.

2010-01-01

Many debilitating diseases, including neurodegenerative diseases, involve apoptosis. Several methods have been developed for visualizing apoptotic cells in vitro or in fixed tissues, but few tools are available for visualizing apoptotic cells in live animals. Here we describe a genetically encoded fluorescent reporter protein that labels apoptotic cells in live zebrafish embryos. During apoptosis, the phospholipid phosphatidylserine (PS) is exposed on the outer leaflet of the plasma membrane. The calcium-dependent protein Annexin V (A5) binds PS with high affinity, and biochemically purified, fluorescently labeled A5 probes have been widely used to detect apoptosis in vitro. Here we show that secreted A5 fused to yellow fluorescent protein specifically labels apoptotic cells in living zebrafish. We use this fluorescent probe to characterize patterns of apoptosis in living zebrafish larvae and to visualize neuronal cell death at single-cell resolution in vivo.—Van Ham, T. J., Mapes, J., Kokel, D., Peterson, R. T. Live imaging of apoptotic cells in zebrafish. PMID:20601526

Effects of ammonium-based ionic liquids and 2,4-dichlorophenol on the phospholipid fatty acid composition of zebrafish embryos.

PubMed

Piotrowska, Aleksandra; Syguda, Anna; Wyrwas, Bogdan; Chrzanowski, Lukasz; Luckenbach, Till; Heipieper, Hermann J

2018-01-01

Ionic liquids consisting of a combination of herbicidal anions with a quaternary ammonium cation act as efficient herbicides, which are under consideration to be used in the agriculture. In the present study, we used embryos of the zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model to assess the toxic potential of ammonium-based ionic liquids for aquatic organisms. As we assumed interference of the partially hydrophobic ionic liquid cation with lipids, we investigated the adaptation response in the lipid composition of the zebrafish embryos, triggered by the ionic compound. Therefore, the impact of ammonium-based ionic liquids with different lengths of the alkyl chain ([C6,C6,C1,C1N][Br], [C8,C8,C1,C1N][Br]) on the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profile of zebrafish embryos up to 72 hours post fertilization (hpf) was examined. Furthermore, the changes in the unsaturation index (UI) of PLFAs, as the sum parameter of membrane fluidity in eukaryotic cells, were presented. The PLFA's UI in the zebrafish embryos upon exposure to quaternary ammonium salts was compared to the UI of the embryos upon exposure to nonionic 2,4-dichlorophenol, which has a similar hydrophobicity but is structurally different to [C8,C8,C1,C1N][Br]. It was shown that for ammonium-based ionic liquid precursors non-specific mode of action occurs and the toxic effect on lipid composition of zebrafish embryos can be well predicted based on chemical properties, like hydrophobicity. Furthermore, the changes in PLFAs, expressed by the UI, can be useful to study toxic effects of organic contamination. However, for zebrafish embryos, after ionic liquids and 2,4-DCP exposure, the changes were observed at high lethal concentrations, which caused the incidence of lethality of 30 and 50% of a group of test animals.

Effects of ammonium-based ionic liquids and 2,4-dichlorophenol on the phospholipid fatty acid composition of zebrafish embryos

PubMed Central

Piotrowska, Aleksandra; Syguda, Anna; Wyrwas, Bogdan; Chrzanowski, Lukasz; Luckenbach, Till

2018-01-01

Ionic liquids consisting of a combination of herbicidal anions with a quaternary ammonium cation act as efficient herbicides, which are under consideration to be used in the agriculture. In the present study, we used embryos of the zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model to assess the toxic potential of ammonium-based ionic liquids for aquatic organisms. As we assumed interference of the partially hydrophobic ionic liquid cation with lipids, we investigated the adaptation response in the lipid composition of the zebrafish embryos, triggered by the ionic compound. Therefore, the impact of ammonium-based ionic liquids with different lengths of the alkyl chain ([C6,C6,C1,C1N][Br], [C8,C8,C1,C1N][Br]) on the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profile of zebrafish embryos up to 72 hours post fertilization (hpf) was examined. Furthermore, the changes in the unsaturation index (UI) of PLFAs, as the sum parameter of membrane fluidity in eukaryotic cells, were presented. The PLFA’s UI in the zebrafish embryos upon exposure to quaternary ammonium salts was compared to the UI of the embryos upon exposure to nonionic 2,4-dichlorophenol, which has a similar hydrophobicity but is structurally different to [C8,C8,C1,C1N][Br]. It was shown that for ammonium-based ionic liquid precursors non-specific mode of action occurs and the toxic effect on lipid composition of zebrafish embryos can be well predicted based on chemical properties, like hydrophobicity. Furthermore, the changes in PLFAs, expressed by the UI, can be useful to study toxic effects of organic contamination. However, for zebrafish embryos, after ionic liquids and 2,4-DCP exposure, the changes were observed at high lethal concentrations, which caused the incidence of lethality of 30 and 50% of a group of test animals. PMID:29342167

Teratogenic, bioenergetic, and behavioral effects of exposure to total particulate matter on early development of zebrafish (Danio rerio) are not mimicked by nicotine

PubMed Central

Massarsky, Andrey; Jayasundara, Nishad; Bailey, Jordan M.; Oliveri, Anthony N.; Levin, Edward D.; Prasad, G.L.; Di Giulio, Richard T.

2016-01-01

Cigarette smoke has been associated with a number of pathologies; however, the mechanisms leading to developmental effects are yet to be fully understood. The zebrafish embryo is regarded as a ‘bridge model’; however, not many studies examined its applicability to cigarette smoke toxicity. This study examined the effects of total particulate matter (TPM) from 3R4F reference cigarettes on the early development of zebrafish (Danio rerio). Zebrafish embryos were exposed to two concentrations of TPM (0.4 and 1.4 μg/mL equi-nicotine units) or nicotine at equivalent doses. The exposures began at 2 h post-fertilization (hpf) and lasted until 96 hpf. Several physiological parameters were assessed during or after the exposure. We show that TPM increased mortality, delayed hatching, and increased the incidence of deformities in zebrafish. TPM exposure also increased the incidence of hemorrhage and disrupted the angiogenesis of the major vessels in the brain. Moreover, TPM exposure reduced the larval body length, decreased the heart rate, and reduced the metabolic rate. Biomarkers of xenobiotic metabolism and oxidative stress were also affected. TPM-exposed zebrafish also differed behaviorally: at 24 hpf the embryos had a higher frequency of spontaneous contractions and at 144 hpf the larvae displayed swimming hyperactivity. This study demonstrates that TPM disrupts several aspects of early development in zebrafish. The effects reported for TPM were not attributable to nicotine, since embryos treated with nicotine alone did not differ significantly from the control group. Collectively, our work illustrates the utility of zebrafish as an alternative model to evaluate the toxic effects of cigarette smoke constituents. PMID:26391568

Teratogenic, bioenergetic, and behavioral effects of exposure to total particulate matter on early development of zebrafish (Danio rerio) are not mimicked by nicotine.

PubMed

Massarsky, Andrey; Jayasundara, Nishad; Bailey, Jordan M; Oliveri, Anthony N; Levin, Edward D; Prasad, G L; Di Giulio, Richard T

2015-01-01

Cigarette smoke has been associated with a number of pathologies; however, the mechanisms leading to developmental effects are yet to be fully understood. The zebrafish embryo is regarded as a 'bridge model'; however, not many studies examined its applicability to cigarette smoke toxicity. This study examined the effects of total particulate matter (TPM) from 3R4F reference cigarettes on the early development of zebrafish (Danio rerio). Zebrafish embryos were exposed to two concentrations of TPM (0.4 and 1.4 μg/mL equi-nicotine units) or nicotine at equivalent doses. The exposures began at 2h post-fertilization (hpf) and lasted until 96 hpf. Several physiological parameters were assessed during or after the exposure. We show that TPM increased mortality, delayed hatching, and increased the incidence of deformities in zebrafish. TPM exposure also increased the incidence of hemorrhage and disrupted the angiogenesis of the major vessels in the brain. Moreover, TPM exposure reduced the larval body length, decreased the heart rate, and reduced the metabolic rate. Biomarkers of xenobiotic metabolism and oxidative stress were also affected. TPM-exposed zebrafish also differed behaviorally: at 24 hpf the embryos had a higher frequency of spontaneous contractions and at 144 hpf the larvae displayed swimming hyperactivity. This study demonstrates that TPM disrupts several aspects of early development in zebrafish. The effects reported for TPM were not attributable to nicotine, since embryos treated with nicotine alone did not differ significantly from the control group. Collectively, our work illustrates the utility of zebrafish as an alternative model to evaluate the toxic effects of cigarette smoke constituents. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Behavioral, morphometric, and gene expression effects in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryonically exposed to PFOA, PFOS, and PFNA.

PubMed

Jantzen, Carrie E; Annunziato, Kate M; Cooper, Keith R

2016-11-01

Perfluoroalkylated substances (PFAS) are a class of persistent anthropogenic chemicals that have been detected worldwide. PFASs consist of fluorinated carbon chains of varying length, terminal groups, and have a number of industrial uses. A previous zebrafish study from our laboratory showed that acute (3-120h post fertilization, 0.02-2.0μM), waterborne embryonic exposure to these chemicals resulted in chemical specific alterations at 5days post fertilization (dpf), and some effects persisted up to 14 dpf. Using a gene battery consisting of 100 transcripts identified several genes that were up or down regulated. This current study looks at the long-term impacts of PFASs in adult zebrafish using the same exposure regimen. It was hypothesized that sub-lethal exposure of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), or perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOA) in embryonic zebrafish (3-120 hpf) would result in permanent morphometric, gene expression, and behavioral changes in adult fish similar to those observed at 5 and 14 dpf. Zebrafish were exposed to PFOS, PFOA, and PFNA (Control 0μM, 2.0μM) for the first five days post fertilization. At six months post fertilization, no PFAS treatment resulted in a significant change in total body length or weight. In terms of behavior, PFNA males showed a reduction in total distance traveled and time of immobility, and an increase in thigmotaxis behavior, aggressive attacks, and preference for the bright section of the tank. PFOS treated males had a reduced aggression behavior, and PFOA females preferred the dark section of the tank. Gene expression of slco2b1, slco1d1, and tgfb1a were analyzed because these transcripts were previously found to be affected by PFAS exposure in 5dpf and 14 dpf zebrafish and resulted in: significant decrease in expression of slco2b1 for both sexes in PFNA and PFOS treated groups, significant decrease of slco1d1 in all treatment groups for females and PFOS and PFOA exposed males

HCV IRES-Mediated Core Expression in Zebrafish

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jing-Pu; Hu, Zhan-Ying; Tong, Jun-Wei; Ding, Cun-Bao; Peng, Zong-Gen; Zhao, Li-Xun; Song, Dan-Qing; Jiang, Jian-Dong

2013-01-01

The lack of small animal models for hepatitis C virus has impeded the discovery and development of anti-HCV drugs. HCV-IRES plays an important role in HCV gene expression, and is an attractive target for antiviral therapy. In this study, we report a zebrafish model with a biscistron expression construct that can co-transcribe GFP and HCV-core genes by human hepatic lipase promoter and zebrafish liver fatty acid binding protein enhancer. HCV core translation was designed mediated by HCV-IRES sequence and gfp was by a canonical cap-dependent mechanism. Results of fluorescence image and in situ hybridization indicate that expression of HCV core and GFP is liver-specific; RT-PCR and Western blotting show that both core and gfp expression are elevated in a time-dependent manner for both transcription and translation. It means that the HCV-IRES exerted its role in this zebrafish model. Furthermore, the liver-pathological impact associated with HCV-infection was detected by examination of gene markers and some of them were elevated, such as adiponectin receptor, heparanase, TGF-β, PDGF-α, etc. The model was used to evaluate three clinical drugs, ribavirin, IFNα-2b and vitamin B12. The results show that vitamin B12 inhibited core expression in mRNA and protein levels in dose-dependent manner, but failed to impact gfp expression. Also VB12 down-regulated some gene transcriptions involved in fat liver, liver fibrosis and HCV-associated pathological process in the larvae. It reveals that HCV-IRES responds to vitamin B12 sensitively in the zebrafish model. Ribavirin did not disturb core expression, hinting that HCV-IRES is not a target site of ribavirin. IFNα-2b was not active, which maybe resulted from its degradation in vivo for the long time. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of the zebrafish model for screening of anti-HCV drugs targeting to HCV-IRES. The zebrafish system provides a novel evidence of using zebrafish as a HCV model organism. PMID:23469178

Analysis of Lethality and Malformations During Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Development.

PubMed

Raghunath, Azhwar; Perumal, Ekambaram

2018-01-01

The versatility offered by zebrafish (Danio rerio) makes it a powerful and an attractive vertebrate model in developmental toxicity and teratogenicity assays. Apart from the newly introduced chemicals as drugs, xenobiotics also induce abnormal developmental abnormalities and congenital malformations in living organisms. Over the recent decades, zebrafish embryo/larva has emerged as a potential tool to test teratogenicity potential of these chemicals. Zebrafish responds to compounds as mammals do as they share similarities in their development, metabolism, physiology, and signaling pathways with that of mammals. The methodology used by the different scientists varies enormously in the zebrafish embryotoxicity test. In this chapter, we present methods to assess lethality and malformations during zebrafish development. We propose two major malformations scoring systems: binomial and relative morphological scoring systems to assess the malformations in zebrafish embryos/larvae. Based on the scoring of the malformations, the test compound can be classified as a teratogen or a nonteratogen and its teratogenic potential is evaluated.

Conserved gene regulation during acute inflammation between zebrafish and mammals

PubMed Central

Forn-Cuní, G.; Varela, M.; Pereiro, P.; Novoa, B.; Figueras, A.

2017-01-01

Zebrafish (Danio rerio), largely used as a model for studying developmental processes, has also emerged as a valuable system for modelling human inflammatory diseases. However, in a context where even mice have been questioned as a valid model for these analysis, a systematic study evaluating the reproducibility of human and mammalian inflammatory diseases in zebrafish is still lacking. In this report, we characterize the transcriptomic regulation to lipopolysaccharide in adult zebrafish kidney, liver, and muscle tissues using microarrays and demonstrate how the zebrafish genomic responses can effectively reproduce the mammalian inflammatory process induced by acute endotoxin stress. We provide evidence that immune signaling pathways and single gene expression is well conserved throughout evolution and that the zebrafish and mammal acute genomic responses after lipopolysaccharide stimulation are highly correlated despite the differential susceptibility between species to that compound. Therefore, we formally confirm that zebrafish inflammatory models are suited to study the basic mechanisms of inflammation in human inflammatory diseases, with great translational impact potential. PMID:28157230

Zebrafish as a model system to study toxicology.

PubMed

Dai, Yu-Jie; Jia, Yong-Fang; Chen, Na; Bian, Wan-Ping; Li, Qin-Kai; Ma, Yan-Bo; Chen, Yan-Ling; Pei, De-Sheng

2014-01-01

Monitoring and assessing the effects of contaminants in the aquatic eco-environment is critical in protecting human health and the environment. The zebrafish has been widely used as a prominent model organism in different fields because of its small size, low cost, diverse adaptability, short breeding cycle, high fecundity, and transparent embryos. Recent studies have demonstrated that zebrafish sensitivity can aid in monitoring environmental contaminants, especially with the application of transgenic technology in this area. The present review provides a brief overview of recent studies on wild-type and transgenic zebrafish as a model system to monitor toxic heavy metals, endocrine disruptors, and organic pollutants for toxicology. The authors address the new direction of developing high-throughput detection of genetically modified transparent zebrafish to open a new window for monitoring environmental pollutants. © 2013 SETAC.

Effects of chronic perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) at low concentration on morphometrics, gene expression, and fecundity in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

PubMed

Jantzen, Carrie E; Toor, Fatima; Annunziato, Kate A; Cooper, Keith R

2017-04-01

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is a persistent, toxic, anthropogenic chemical recalcitrant to biodegradation. Based on previous studies in lower and higher vertebrates, it was hypothesized that chronic, sub-lethal, embryonic exposure to PFOA in zebrafish (Danio rerio) would adversely impact fish development, survival, and fecundity. Zebrafish embryo/sac-fry were water exposed to 2.0 or 0nM PFOA from 3 to 120hpf, and juvenile to adult cohorts were fed spiked food (8 pM) until 6 months. After chronic exposure, PFOA exposed fish were significantly smaller in total weight and length. Gene expression analysis found a significant decrease of transporters slco2b1, slco4a1, slco3a1 and tgfb1a, and a significant increase of slco1d1 expression. PFOA exposed fish produced significantly fewer eggs with reduced viability and developmental stage delay in F 1 . Chronic, low-dose exposure of zebrafish to PFOA significantly altered normal development, survival and fecundity and would likely impact wild fish population fitness in watersheds chronically exposed to PFOA. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Non-destructive testing of full-length bonded rock bolts based on HHT signal analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Z. M.; Liu, L.; Peng, M.; Liu, C. C.; Tao, F. J.; Liu, C. S.

2018-04-01

Full-length bonded rock bolts are commonly used in mining, tunneling and slope engineering because of their simple design and resistance to corrosion. However, the length of a rock bolt and grouting quality do not often meet the required design standards in practice because of the concealment and complexity of bolt construction. Non-destructive testing is preferred when testing a rock bolt's quality because of the convenience, low cost and wide detection range. In this paper, a signal analysis method for the non-destructive sound wave testing of full-length bonded rock bolts is presented, which is based on the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT). First, we introduce the HHT analysis method to calculate the bolt length and identify defect locations based on sound wave reflection test signals, which includes decomposing the test signal via empirical mode decomposition (EMD), selecting the intrinsic mode functions (IMF) using the Pearson Correlation Index (PCI) and calculating the instantaneous phase and frequency via the Hilbert transform (HT). Second, six model tests are conducted using different grouting defects and bolt protruding lengths to verify the effectiveness of the HHT analysis method. Lastly, the influence of the bolt protruding length on the test signal, identification of multiple reflections from defects, bolt end and protruding end, and mode mixing from EMD are discussed. The HHT analysis method can identify the bolt length and grouting defect locations from signals that contain noise at multiple reflected interfaces. The reflection from the long protruding end creates an irregular test signal with many frequency peaks on the spectrum. The reflections from defects barely change the original signal because they are low energy, which cannot be adequately resolved using existing methods. The HHT analysis method can identify reflections from the long protruding end of the bolt and multiple reflections from grouting defects based on mutations in the instantaneous

cDNA cloning of the human peroxisomal enoyl-CoA hydratase: 3-Hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase bifunctional enzyme and localization to chromosome 3q26. 3-3q28: A free left Alu arm is inserted in the 3[prime] noncoding region

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hoefler, G.; Forstner, M.; Hulla, W.

1994-01-01

Enoyl-CoA hydratase:3-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase bifunctional enzyme is one of the four enzymes of the peroxisomal, [beta]-oxidation pathway. Here, the authors report the full-length human cDNA sequence and the localization of the corresponding gene on chromosome 3q26.3-3q28. The cDNA sequence spans 3779 nucleotides with an open reading frame of 2169 nucleotides. The tripeptide SKL at the carboxy terminus, known to serve as a peroxisomal targeting signal, is present. DNA sequence comparison of the coding region showed an 80% homology between human and rat bifunctional enzyme cDNA. The 3[prime] noncoding sequence contains 117 nucleotides homologous to an Alu repeat. Based on sequence comparison,more » they propose that these nucleotides are a free left Alu arm with 86% homology to the Alu-J family. RNA analysis shows one band with highest intensity in liver and kidney. This cDNA will allow in-depth studies of molecular defects in patients with defective peroxisomal bifunctional enzyme. Moreover, it will also provide a means for studying the regulation of peroxisomal [beta]-oxidation in humans. 33 refs., 5 figs.« less

Silver nanoparticles induce endoplasmatic reticulum stress response in zebrafish

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Christen, Verena; Capelle, Martinus; Fent, Karl, E-mail: karl.fent@fhnw.ch

2013-10-15

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) find increasing applications, and therefore humans and the environment are increasingly exposed to them. However, potential toxicological implications are not sufficiently known. Here we investigate effects of AgNPs (average size 120 nm) on zebrafish in vitro and in vivo, and compare them to human hepatoma cells (Huh7). AgNPs are incorporated in zebrafish liver cells (ZFL) and Huh7, and in zebrafish embryos. In ZFL cells AgNPs lead to induction of reactive oxygen species (ROS), endoplasmatic reticulum (ER) stress response, and TNF-α. Transcriptional alterations also occur in pro-apoptotic genes p53 and Bax. The transcriptional profile differed in ZFL andmore » Huh7 cells. In ZFL cells, the ER stress marker BiP is induced, concomitant with the ER stress marker ATF-6 and spliced XBP-1 after 6 h and 24 h exposure to 0.5 g/L and 0.05 g/L AgNPs, respectively. This indicates the induction of different pathways of the ER stress response. Moreover, AgNPs induce TNF-α. In zebrafish embryos exposed to 0.01, 0.1, 1 and 5 mg/L AgNPs hatching was affected and morphological defects occurred at high concentrations. ER stress related gene transcripts BiP and Synv are significantly up-regulated after 24 h at 0.1 and 5 mg/L AgNPs. Furthermore, transcriptional alterations occurred in the pro-apoptotic genes Noxa and p21. The ER stress response was strong in ZFL cells and occurred in zebrafish embryos as well. Our data demonstrate for the first time that AgNPs lead to induction of ER stress in zebrafish. The induction of ER stress can have several consequences including the activation of apoptotic and inflammatory pathways. - Highlights: • Effects of silver nanoparticles (120 nm AgNPs) are investigated in zebrafish. • AgNPs induce all ER stress reponses in vitro in zebrafish liver cells. • AgNPs induce weak ER stress in zebrafish embryos. • AgNPs induce oxidative stress and transcripts of pro-apoptosis genes.« less

New frontiers for zebrafish management.

PubMed

Lawrence, C

2016-01-01

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a preeminent model organism with a wide and expanding utility for numerous scientific disciplines. The same features that once endeared this small freshwater minnow to developmental biologists combined with its relatively high genetic similarity to mammals and the advent of new, more efficient methods for genome editing are now helping to spur expanded growth in its usage in various fields, including toxicology, drug discovery, transplant biology, disease modeling, and even aquaculture. Continued maturation and adoption of the zebrafish model system in these and other fields of science will require that methods and approaches for husbandry and management of these fish in controlled settings be refined and improved to the extent that, ultimately, zebrafish research becomes more reproducible, defined, cost-effective, and accessible to the masses. Knowledge and technology transfer from laboratory animal science and commercial aquaculture will be a necessary part of this development. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mayo Clinic Zebrafish Facility Overview.

PubMed

Leveque, Ryan E; Clark, Karl J; Ekker, Stephen C

2016-07-01

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a premier nonmammalian vertebrate model organism. This small aquatic fish is utilized in multiple disciplines in the Mayo Clinic community and by many laboratories around the world because of its biological similarity to humans, its advanced molecular genetics, the elucidation of its genome sequence, and the ever-expanding and outstanding new biological tools now available to the zebrafish researcher. The Mayo Clinic Zebrafish Facility (MCZF) houses ∼2,000 tanks annotated using an in-house, Internet cloud-based bar-coding system tied to our established zfishbook.org web infrastructure. Paramecia are the primary food source for larval fish rearing, using a simplified culture protocol described herein. The MCZF supports the specific ongoing research in a variety of laboratories, while also serving as a local hub for new scientists as they learn to tap into the potential of this model system for understanding normal development, disease, and as models of health.

Culturable Gut Microbiota Diversity in Zebrafish

PubMed Central

Sørby, Jan Roger Torp; Aleström, Peter; Sørum, Henning

2012-01-01

Abstract The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is an increasingly used laboratory animal model in basic biology and biomedicine, novel drug development, and toxicology. The wide use has increased the demand for optimized husbandry protocols to ensure animal health care and welfare. The knowledge about the correlation between culturable zebrafish intestinal microbiota and health in relation to environmental factors and management procedures is very limited. A semi-quantitative level of growth of individual types of bacteria was determined and associated with sampling points. A total of 72 TAB line zebrafish from four laboratories (Labs A–D) in the Zebrafish Network Norway were used. Diagnostic was based on traditional bacterial culture methods and biochemical characterization using commercial kits, followed by 16S rDNA gene sequencing from pure subcultures. Also selected Gram-negative isolates were analyzed for antibiotic susceptibility to 8 different antibiotics. A total of 13 morphologically different bacterial species were the most prevalent: Aeromonas hydrophila, Aeromonas sobria, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Photobacterium damselae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas luteola, Comamonas testosteroni, Ochrobactrum anthropi, Staphylococcus cohnii, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus capitis, and Staphylococcus warneri. Only Lab B had significantly higher levels of total bacterial growth (OR=2.03), whereas numbers from Lab C (OR=1.01) and Lab D (OR=1.12) were found to be similar to the baseline Lab A. Sexually immature individuals had a significantly higher level of harvested total bacterial growth than mature fish (OR=0.82), no statistically significant differences were found between male and female fish (OR=1.01), and the posterior intestinal segment demonstrated a higher degree of culturable bacteria than the anterior segment (OR=4.1). Multiple antibiotic (>3) resistance was observed in 17% of the strains. We propose that a rapid

Culturable gut microbiota diversity in zebrafish.

PubMed

Cantas, Leon; Sørby, Jan Roger Torp; Aleström, Peter; Sørum, Henning

2012-03-01

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is an increasingly used laboratory animal model in basic biology and biomedicine, novel drug development, and toxicology. The wide use has increased the demand for optimized husbandry protocols to ensure animal health care and welfare. The knowledge about the correlation between culturable zebrafish intestinal microbiota and health in relation to environmental factors and management procedures is very limited. A semi-quantitative level of growth of individual types of bacteria was determined and associated with sampling points. A total of 72 TAB line zebrafish from four laboratories (Labs A-D) in the Zebrafish Network Norway were used. Diagnostic was based on traditional bacterial culture methods and biochemical characterization using commercial kits, followed by 16S rDNA gene sequencing from pure subcultures. Also selected Gram-negative isolates were analyzed for antibiotic susceptibility to 8 different antibiotics. A total of 13 morphologically different bacterial species were the most prevalent: Aeromonas hydrophila, Aeromonas sobria, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Photobacterium damselae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas luteola, Comamonas testosteroni, Ochrobactrum anthropi, Staphylococcus cohnii, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Staphylococcus capitis, and Staphylococcus warneri. Only Lab B had significantly higher levels of total bacterial growth (OR=2.03), whereas numbers from Lab C (OR=1.01) and Lab D (OR=1.12) were found to be similar to the baseline Lab A. Sexually immature individuals had a significantly higher level of harvested total bacterial growth than mature fish (OR=0.82), no statistically significant differences were found between male and female fish (OR=1.01), and the posterior intestinal segment demonstrated a higher degree of culturable bacteria than the anterior segment (OR=4.1). Multiple antibiotic (>3) resistance was observed in 17% of the strains. We propose that a rapid conventional

Characterization, molecular modelling and developmental expression of zebrafish manganese superoxide dismutase.

PubMed

Lin, Chi-Tsai; Tseng, Wen-Chung; Hsiao, Nai-Wan; Chang, Hsiao-Huang; Ken, Chuian-Fu

2009-08-01

A 977 bp cDNA containing an open reading frame encoding 224 amino acid residues of manganese superoxide dismutase was cloned from zebrafish (zMn-SOD). The deduced amino acid sequence showed high identity with the sequences of Mn-SODs from human (85.1%) to nematode (61.6%). The 3-D structure model was superimposed on the relative domains of human Mn-SOD with the root mean square (rms) deviation of 0.0919 A. The recombinant mature zMn-SOD with enzyme activity was purified using His-tag technique. The half-life of the enzyme is approximately 48 min and its thermal inactivation rate constant k(d) is 0.0154 min(-1)at 70 degrees C. The enzyme was active under a broad pH (2.2-11.2) and in the presence of up to 4% SDS. Real-time RT-PCR assay was used to detect the zMn-SOD mRNA expression during the developmental stages following a challenge with paraquat. A high level expression of Mn-SOD mRNA was detected at the cleavage stage, but decreased significantly under paraquat treatment. The results indicated that Mn-SOD plays an important role during embryonic development.

An assay for lateral line regeneration in adult zebrafish.

PubMed

Pisano, Gina C; Mason, Samantha M; Dhliwayo, Nyembezi; Intine, Robert V; Sarras, Michael P

2014-04-08

Due to the clinical importance of hearing and balance disorders in man, model organisms such as the zebrafish have been used to study lateral line development and regeneration. The zebrafish is particularly attractive for such studies because of its rapid development time and its high regenerative capacity. To date, zebrafish studies of lateral line regeneration have mainly utilized fish of the embryonic and larval stages because of the lower number of neuromasts at these stages. This has made quantitative analysis of lateral line regeneration/and or development easier in the earlier developmental stages. Because many zebrafish models of neurological and non-neurological diseases are studied in the adult fish and not in the embryo/larvae, we focused on developing a quantitative lateral line regenerative assay in adult zebrafish so that an assay was available that could be applied to current adult zebrafish disease models. Building on previous studies by Van Trump et al. that described procedures for ablation of hair cells in adult Mexican blind cave fish and zebrafish (Danio rerio), our assay was designed to allow quantitative comparison between control and experimental groups. This was accomplished by developing a regenerative neuromast standard curve based on the percent of neuromast reappearance over a 24 hr time period following gentamicin-induced necrosis of hair cells in a defined region of the lateral line. The assay was also designed to allow extension of the analysis to the individual hair cell level when a higher level of resolution is required.

Fishing anti(lymph)angiogenic drugs with zebrafish.

PubMed

García-Caballero, Melissa; Quesada, Ana R; Medina, Miguel A; Marí-Beffa, Manuel

2018-02-01

Zebrafish, an amenable small teleost fish with a complex mammal-like circulatory system, is being increasingly used for drug screening and toxicity studies. It combines the biological complexity of in vivo models with a higher-throughput screening capability compared with other available animal models. Externally growing, transparent embryos, displaying well-defined blood and lymphatic vessels, allow the inexpensive, rapid, and automatable evaluation of drug candidates that are able to inhibit neovascularisation. Here, we briefly review zebrafish as a model for the screening of anti(lymph)angiogenic drugs, with emphasis on the advantages and limitations of the different zebrafish-based in vivo assays. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

cDNA Microarray Screening in Food Safety

PubMed Central

ROY, SASHWATI; SEN, CHANDAN K

2009-01-01

The cDNA microarray technology and related bioinformatics tools presents a wide range of novel application opportunities. The technology may be productively applied to address food safety. In this mini-review article, we present an update highlighting the late breaking discoveries that demonstrate the vitality of cDNA microarray technology as a tool to analyze food safety with reference to microbial pathogens and genetically modified foods. In order to bring the microarray technology to mainstream food safety, it is important to develop robust user-friendly tools that may be applied in a field setting. In addition, there needs to be a standardized process for regulatory agencies to interpret and act upon microarray-based data. The cDNA microarray approach is an emergent technology in diagnostics. Its values lie in being able to provide complimentary molecular insight when employed in addition to traditional tests for food safety, as part of a more comprehensive battery of tests. PMID:16466843

Fusion of locomotor maneuvers, and improving sensory capabilities, give rise to the flexible homing strikes of juvenile zebrafish

PubMed Central

Westphal, Rebecca E.; O'Malley, Donald M.

2013-01-01

At 5 days post-fertilization and 4 mm in length, zebrafish larvae are successful predators of mobile prey items. The tracking and capture of 200 μm long Paramecia requires efficient sensorimotor transformations and precise neural controls that activate axial musculature for orientation and propulsion, while coordinating jaw muscle activity to engulf them. Using high-speed imaging, we report striking changes across ontogeny in the kinematics, structure and efficacy of zebrafish feeding episodes. Most notably, the discrete tracking maneuvers used by larval fish (turns, forward swims) become fused with prey capture swims to form the continuous, fluid homing strikes of juvenile and adult zebrafish. Across this same developmental time frame, the duration of feeding episodes become much shorter, with strikes occurring at broader angles and from much greater distances than seen with larval zebrafish. Moreover, juveniles use a surprisingly diverse array of motor patterns that constitute a flexible predatory strategy. This enhances the ability of zebrafish to capture more mobile prey items such as Artemia. Visually-guided tracking is complemented by the mechanosensory lateral line system. Neomycin ablation of lateral line hair cells reduced the accuracy of strikes and overall feeding rates, especially when neomycin-treated larvae and juveniles were placed in the dark. Darkness by itself reduced the distance from which strikes were launched, as visualized by infrared imaging. Rapid growth and changing morphology, including ossification of skeletal elements and differentiation of control musculature, present challenges for sustaining and enhancing predatory capabilities. The concurrent expansion of the cerebellum and subpallium (an ancestral basal ganglia) may contribute to the emergence of juvenile homing strikes, whose ontogeny possibly mirrors a phylogenetic expansion of motor capabilities. PMID:23761739

Effectiveness of recommended euthanasia methods in larval zebrafish (Danio rerio).

PubMed

Strykowski, Jennifer L; Schech, Joseph M

2015-01-01

The popularity of zebrafish and its use as a model organism in biomedical research including genetics, development, and toxicology, has increased over the past 20 y and continues to grow. However, guidelines for euthanasia remain vague, and the responsibility of creating appropriate euthanasia protocols essentially falls on individual facilities. To reduce variation in experimental results among labs, a standard method of euthanasia for zebrafish would be useful. Although various euthanasia methods have been compared, few studies focus on the effectiveness of euthanasia methods for larval zebrafish. In this study, we exposed larval zebrafish to each of 3 euthanasia agents (MS222, eugenol, and hypothermic shock) and assessed the recovery rate. Hypothermic shock appeared to be the most effective method for euthanizing zebrafish at 14 d after fertilization; however, this method may not be considered an efficient method for large numbers of larval zebrafish. Exposure to chemicals, such as MS222 and eugenol, were ineffective methods for euthanasia at this stage of development. When these agents are used, secondary measures should be taken to ensure death. Choosing a euthanasia method that is effective, efficient, and humane can be challenging. Determining a method of euthanasia that is suitable for fish of all stages will bring the zebrafish community closer to meeting this challenge.

Effectiveness of Recommended Euthanasia Methods in Larval Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

PubMed Central

Strykowski, Jennifer L; Schech, Joseph M

2015-01-01

The popularity of zebrafish and its use as a model organism in biomedical research including genetics, development, and toxicology, has increased over the past 20 y and continues to grow. However, guidelines for euthanasia remain vague, and the responsibility of creating appropriate euthanasia protocols essentially falls on individual facilities. To reduce variation in experimental results among labs, a standard method of euthanasia for zebrafish would be useful. Although various euthanasia methods have been compared, few studies focus on the effectiveness of euthanasia methods for larval zebrafish. In this study, we exposed larval zebrafish to each of 3 euthanasia agents (MS222, eugenol, and hypothermic shock) and assessed the recovery rate. Hypothermic shock appeared to be the most effective method for euthanizing zebrafish at 14 d after fertilization; however, this method may not be considered an efficient method for large numbers of larval zebrafish. Exposure to chemicals, such as MS222 and eugenol, were ineffective methods for euthanasia at this stage of development. When these agents are used, secondary measures should be taken to ensure death. Choosing a euthanasia method that is effective, efficient, and humane can be challenging. Determining a method of euthanasia that is suitable for fish of all stages will bring the zebrafish community closer to meeting this challenge. PMID:25651096

The zebrafish world of colors and shapes: preference and discrimination.

PubMed

Oliveira, Jessica; Silveira, Mayara; Chacon, Diana; Luchiari, Ana

2015-04-01

Natural environment imposes many challenges to animals, which have to use cognitive abilities to cope with and exploit it to enhance their fitness. Since zebrafish is a well-established model for cognitive studies and high-throughput screening for drugs and diseases that affect cognition, we tested their ability for ambient color preference and 3D objects discrimination to establish a protocol for memory evaluation. For the color preference test, zebrafish were observed in a multiple-chamber tank with different environmental color options. Zebrafish showed preference for blue and green, and avoided yellow and red. For the 3D objects discrimination, zebrafish were allowed to explore two equal objects and then observed in a one-trial test in which a new color, size, or shape of the object was presented. Zebrafish showed discrimination for color, shape, and color+shape combined, but not size. These results imply that zebrafish seem to use some categorical system to discriminate items, and distracters affect their ability for discrimination. The type of variables available (color and shape) may favor zebrafish objects perception and facilitate discrimination processing. We suggest that this easy and simple memory test could serve as a useful screening tool for cognitive dysfunction and neurotoxicological studies.

Zebrafish xenograft models of cancer and metastasis for drug discovery.

PubMed

Brown, Hannah K; Schiavone, Kristina; Tazzyman, Simon; Heymann, Dominique; Chico, Timothy Ja

2017-04-01

Patients with metastatic cancer suffer the highest rate of cancer-related death, but existing animal models of metastasis have disadvantages that limit our ability to understand this process. The zebrafish is increasingly used for cancer modelling, particularly xenografting of human cancer cell lines, and drug discovery, and may provide novel scientific and therapeutic insights. However, this model system remains underexploited. Areas covered: The authors discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the zebrafish xenograft model for the study of cancer, metastasis and drug discovery. They summarise previous work investigating the metastatic cascade, such as tumour-induced angiogenesis, intravasation, extravasation, dissemination and homing, invasion at secondary sites, assessing metastatic potential and evaluation of cancer stem cells in zebrafish. Expert opinion: The practical advantages of zebrafish for basic biological study and drug discovery are indisputable. However, their ability to sufficiently reproduce and predict the behaviour of human cancer and metastasis remains unproven. For this to be resolved, novel mechanisms must to be discovered in zebrafish that are subsequently validated in humans, and for therapeutic interventions that modulate cancer favourably in zebrafish to successfully translate to human clinical studies. In the meantime, more work is required to establish the most informative methods in zebrafish.

Electroretinogram analysis of the visual response in zebrafish larvae.

PubMed

Chrispell, Jared D; Rebrik, Tatiana I; Weiss, Ellen R

2015-03-16

The electroretinogram (ERG) is a noninvasive electrophysiological method for determining retinal function. Through the placement of an electrode on the surface of the cornea, electrical activity generated in response to light can be measured and used to assess the activity of retinal cells in vivo. This manuscript describes the use of the ERG to measure visual function in zebrafish. Zebrafish have long been utilized as a model for vertebrate development due to the ease of gene suppression by morpholino oligonucleotides and pharmacological manipulation. At 5-10 dpf, only cones are functional in the larval retina. Therefore, the zebrafish, unlike other animals, is a powerful model system for the study of cone visual function in vivo. This protocol uses standard anesthesia, micromanipulation and stereomicroscopy protocols that are common in laboratories that perform zebrafish research. The outlined methods make use of standard electrophysiology equipment and a low light camera to guide the placement of the recording microelectrode onto the larval cornea. Finally, we demonstrate how a commercially available ERG stimulator/recorder originally designed for use with mice can easily be adapted for use with zebrafish. ERG of larval zebrafish provides an excellent method of assaying cone visual function in animals that have been modified by morpholino oligonucleotide injection as well as newer genome engineering techniques such as Zinc Finger Nucleases (ZFNs), Transcription Activator-Like Effector Nucleases (TALENs), and Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR)/Cas9, all of which have greatly increased the efficiency and efficacy of gene targeting in zebrafish. In addition, we take advantage of the ability of pharmacological agents to penetrate zebrafish larvae to evaluate the molecular components that contribute to the photoresponse. This protocol outlines a setup that can be modified and used by researchers with various experimental goals.

Study on acute toxicity of amoxicillin wastewater to Zebrafish

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Weifang; Shen, Hongyan

2017-12-01

The main research in this paper is to obtain the effect of pharmaceutical wastewater on the acute toxicity of Zebrafish. The experimental method of exposure is used in this research. Experiments were carried out with different groups of pharmaceutical wastewater. Zebrafish was cultivated in a five liter fish tank. In the experiment, according to mortality, initially a 96h preliminary test was carried out at exposure concentrations to determine if the amoxicillin wastewater was toxic and to define the concentration range (24h LC100, 96h LC0) to be employed in the definitive tests. Based on the half lethal concentration of Zebrafish, the acute toxicity of amoxicillin wastewater to Zebrafish was calculated and the toxicity grade of wastewater was determined. In the experiment, the Zebrafish was exposed with amoxicillin wastewater during 96h. The 24h, 48h, 72h and 96h LC50 of amoxicillin wastewater on the Zebrafish were 63.10%, 53.70%, 41.69% and 40.74%, respectively. At 96h, the test time is the longest, and the value of LC50 is the smallest. In the observation period of 96 hours, the LC50 of amoxicillin wastewater were in the range of 40% ~ 60% and the value of Tua is 1 ~ 2. It indicates amoxicillin wastewater is low toxic wastewater when the experimental time is shorter than 48h, amoxicillin wastewater is moderate toxicity wastewater when the experimental time is higher than 48h. According to the experimental data, with the exposure time and the volume percentage of amoxicillin wastewater increases, the mortality rate of Zebrafish is gradually increased and the toxicity of amoxicillin wastewater increases. It indicates that the toxicity of amoxicillin wastewater is the biggest and the effect of wastewater on Zebrafish is greatest. In some ways, the toxicity of amoxicillin wastewater can be affected by the test time.

Modeling Leukemogenesis in the Zebrafish Using Genetic and Xenograft Models.

PubMed

Rajan, Vinothkumar; Dellaire, Graham; Berman, Jason N

2016-01-01

The zebrafish is a widely accepted model to study leukemia. The major advantage of studying leukemogenesis in zebrafish is attributed to its short life cycle and superior imaging capacity. This chapter highlights using transgenic- and xenograft-based models in zebrafish to study a specific leukemogenic mutation and analyze therapeutic responses in vivo.

Influenza A Virus Infection Damages Zebrafish Skeletal Muscle and Exacerbates Disease in Zebrafish Modeling Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

PubMed Central

Goody, Michelle; Jurczyszak, Denise; Kim, Carol; Henry, Clarissa

2017-01-01

INTRODUCTION: Both genetic and infectious diseases can result in skeletal muscle degeneration, inflammation, pain, and/or weakness. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common congenital muscle disease. DMD causes progressive muscle wasting due to mutations in Dystrophin. Influenza A and B viruses are frequently associated with muscle complications, especially in children. Infections activate an immune response and immunosuppressant drugs reduce DMD symptoms. These data suggest that the immune system may contribute to muscle pathology. However, roles of the immune response in DMD and Influenza muscle complications are not well understood. Zebrafish with dmd mutations are a well-characterized model in which to study the molecular and cellular mechanisms of DMD pathology. We recently showed that zebrafish can be infected by human Influenza A virus (IAV). Thus, the zebrafish is a powerful system with which to ask questions about the etiology and mechanisms of muscle damage due to genetic and/or infectious diseases. METHODS: We infected zebrafish with IAV and assayed muscle tissue structure, sarcolemma integrity, cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) attachment, and molecular and cellular markers of inflammation in response to IAV infection alone or in the context of DMD. RESULTS: We find that IAV-infected zebrafish display mild muscle degeneration with sarcolemma damage and compromised ECM adhesion. An innate immune response is elicited in muscle in IAV-infected zebrafish: NFkB signaling is activated, pro-inflammatory cytokine expression is upregulated, and neutrophils localize to sites of muscle damage. IAV-infected dmd mutants display more severe muscle damage than would be expected from an additive effect of dmd mutation and IAV infection, suggesting that muscle damage caused by Dystrophin-deficiency and IAV infection is synergistic. DISCUSSION: These data demonstrate the importance of preventing IAV infections in individuals with genetic muscle diseases

Influenza A Virus Infection Damages Zebrafish Skeletal Muscle and Exacerbates Disease in Zebrafish Modeling Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

PubMed

Goody, Michelle; Jurczyszak, Denise; Kim, Carol; Henry, Clarissa

2017-10-25

Both genetic and infectious diseases can result in skeletal muscle degeneration, inflammation, pain, and/or weakness. Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is the most common congenital muscle disease. DMD causes progressive muscle wasting due to mutations in Dystrophin. Influenza A and B viruses are frequently associated with muscle complications, especially in children. Infections activate an immune response and immunosuppressant drugs reduce DMD symptoms. These data suggest that the immune system may contribute to muscle pathology. However, roles of the immune response in DMD and Influenza muscle complications are not well understood. Zebrafish with dmd mutations are a well-characterized model in which to study the molecular and cellular mechanisms of DMD pathology. We recently showed that zebrafish can be infected by human Influenza A virus (IAV). Thus, the zebrafish is a powerful system with which to ask questions about the etiology and mechanisms of muscle damage due to genetic and/or infectious diseases. We infected zebrafish with IAV and assayed muscle tissue structure, sarcolemma integrity, cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) attachment, and molecular and cellular markers of inflammation in response to IAV infection alone or in the context of DMD. We find that IAV-infected zebrafish display mild muscle degeneration with sarcolemma damage and compromised ECM adhesion. An innate immune response is elicited in muscle in IAV-infected zebrafish: NFkB signaling is activated, pro-inflammatory cytokine expression is upregulated, and neutrophils localize to sites of muscle damage. IAV-infected dmd mutants display more severe muscle damage than would be expected from an additive effect of dmd mutation and IAV infection, suggesting that muscle damage caused by Dystrophin-deficiency and IAV infection is synergistic. These data demonstrate the importance of preventing IAV infections in individuals with genetic muscle diseases. Elucidating the mechanisms of immune

Zebrafish Craniofacial Development: A Window into Early Patterning

PubMed Central

Mork, Lindsey; Crump, Gage

2016-01-01

The formation of the face and skull involves a complex series of developmental events mediated by cells derived from the neural crest, endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm. Although vertebrates boast an enormous diversity of adult facial morphologies, the fundamental signaling pathways and cellular events that sculpt the nascent craniofacial skeleton in the embryo have proven to be highly conserved from fish to man. The zebrafish Danio rerio, a small freshwater cyprinid fish from eastern India, has served as a popular model of craniofacial development since the 1990s. Unique strengths of the zebrafish model include a simplified skeleton during larval stages, access to rapidly developing embryos for live imaging, and amenability to transgenesis and complex genetics. In this chapter, we describe the anatomy of the zebrafish craniofacial skeleton; its applications as models for the mammalian jaw, middle ear, palate, and cranial sutures; the superior imaging technology available in fish that has provided unprecedented insights into the dynamics of facial morphogenesis; the use of the zebrafish to decipher the genetic underpinnings of craniofacial biology; and finally a glimpse into the most promising future applications of zebrafish craniofacial research. PMID:26589928

Zebrafish Axenic Larvae Colonization with Human Intestinal Microbiota.

PubMed

Arias-Jayo, Nerea; Alonso-Saez, Laura; Ramirez-Garcia, Andoni; Pardo, Miguel A

2018-04-01

The human intestine hosts a vast and complex microbial community that is vital for maintaining several functions related with host health. The processes that determine the gut microbiome composition are poorly understood, being the interaction between species, the external environment, and the relationship with the host the most feasible. Animal models offer the opportunity to understand the interactions between the host and the microbiota. There are different gnotobiotic mice or rat models colonized with the human microbiota, however, to our knowledge, there are no reports on the colonization of germ-free zebrafish with a complex human intestinal microbiota. In the present study, we have successfully colonized 5 days postfertilization germ-free zebrafish larvae with the human intestinal microbiota previously extracted from a donor and analyzed by high-throughput sequencing the composition of the transferred microbial communities that established inside the zebrafish gut. Thus, we describe for first time which human bacteria phylotypes are able to colonize the zebrafish digestive tract. Species with relevant interest because of their linkage to dysbiosis in different human diseases, such as Akkermansia muciniphila, Eubacterium rectale, Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, Prevotella spp., or Roseburia spp. have been successfully transferred inside the zebrafish digestive tract.

A baculovirus-mediated strategy for full-length plant virus coat protein expression and purification.

PubMed

Ardisson-Araújo, Daniel Mendes Pereira; Rocha, Juliana Ribeiro; da Costa, Márcio Hedil Oliveira; Bocca, Anamélia Lorenzetti; Dusi, André Nepomuceno; de Oliveira Resende, Renato; Ribeiro, Bergmann Morais

2013-08-15

Garlic production is severely affected by virus infection, causing a decrease in productivity and quality. There are no virus-free cultivars and garlic-infecting viruses are difficult to purify, which make specific antibody production very laborious. Since high quality antisera against plant viruses are important tools for serological detection, we have developed a method to express and purify full-length plant virus coat proteins using baculovirus expression system and insects as bioreactors. In this work, we have fused the full-length coat protein (cp) gene from the Garlic Mite-borne Filamentous Virus (GarMbFV) to the 3'-end of the Polyhedrin (polh) gene of the baculovirus Autographa californica multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcMNPV). The recombinant baculovirus was amplified in insect cell culture and the virus was used to infect Spodoptera frugiperda larvae. Thus, the recombinant fused protein was easily purified from insect cadavers using sucrose gradient centrifugation and analyzed by Western Blotting. Interestingly, amorphous crystals were produced in the cytoplasm of cells infected with the recombinant virus containing the chimeric-protein gene but not in cells infected with the wild type and recombinant virus containing the hexa histidine tagged Polh. Moreover, the chimeric protein was used to immunize rats and generate antibodies against the target protein. The antiserum produced was able to detect plants infected with GarMbFV, which had been initially confirmed by RT-PCR. The expression of a plant virus full-length coat protein fused to the baculovirus Polyhedrin in recombinant baculovirus-infected insects was shown to produce high amounts of the recombinant protein which was easily purified and efficiently used to generate specific antibodies. Therefore, this strategy can potentially be used for the development of plant virus diagnostic kits for those viruses that are difficult to purify, are present in low titers or are present in mix infection in

Characterization and simulation of cDNA microarray spots using a novel mathematical model

PubMed Central

Kim, Hye Young; Lee, Seo Eun; Kim, Min Jung; Han, Jin Il; Kim, Bo Kyung; Lee, Yong Sung; Lee, Young Seek; Kim, Jin Hyuk

2007-01-01

Background The quality of cDNA microarray data is crucial for expanding its application to other research areas, such as the study of gene regulatory networks. Despite the fact that a number of algorithms have been suggested to increase the accuracy of microarray gene expression data, it is necessary to obtain reliable microarray images by improving wet-lab experiments. As the first step of a cDNA microarray experiment, spotting cDNA probes is critical to determining the quality of spot images. Results We developed a governing equation of cDNA deposition during evaporation of a drop in the microarray spotting process. The governing equation included four parameters: the surface site density on the support, the extrapolated equilibrium constant for the binding of cDNA molecules with surface sites on glass slides, the macromolecular interaction factor, and the volume constant of a drop of cDNA solution. We simulated cDNA deposition from the single model equation by varying the value of the parameters. The morphology of the resulting cDNA deposit can be classified into three types: a doughnut shape, a peak shape, and a volcano shape. The spot morphology can be changed into a flat shape by varying the experimental conditions while considering the parameters of the governing equation of cDNA deposition. The four parameters were estimated by fitting the governing equation to the real microarray images. With the results of the simulation and the parameter estimation, the phenomenon of the formation of cDNA deposits in each type was investigated. Conclusion This study explains how various spot shapes can exist and suggests which parameters are to be adjusted for obtaining a good spot. This system is able to explore the cDNA microarray spotting process in a predictable, manageable and descriptive manner. We hope it can provide a way to predict the incidents that can occur during a real cDNA microarray experiment, and produce useful data for several research applications

Isolation of a complementary DNA clone for the human complement protein C2 and its use in the identification of a restriction fragment length polymorphism.

PubMed Central

Woods, D E; Edge, M D; Colten, H R

1984-01-01

Complementary DNA (cDNA) clones corresponding to the major histocompatibility (MHC) class III antigen, complement protein C2, have been isolated from human liver cDNA libraries with the use of a complex mixture of synthetic oligonucleotides (17 mer) that contains 576 different oligonucleotide sequences. The C2 cDNA were used to identify a DNA restriction enzyme fragment length polymorphism that provides a genetic marker within the MHC that was not detectable at the protein level. An extensive search for genomic polymorphisms using a cDNA clone for another MHC class III gene, factor B, failed to reveal any DNA variants. The genomic variants detected with the C2 cDNA probe provide an additional genetic marker for analysis of MHC-linked diseases. Images PMID:6086718

High-throughput annotation of full-length long noncoding RNAs with capture long-read sequencing.

PubMed

Lagarde, Julien; Uszczynska-Ratajczak, Barbara; Carbonell, Silvia; Pérez-Lluch, Sílvia; Abad, Amaya; Davis, Carrie; Gingeras, Thomas R; Frankish, Adam; Harrow, Jennifer; Guigo, Roderic; Johnson, Rory

2017-12-01

Accurate annotation of genes and their transcripts is a foundation of genomics, but currently no annotation technique combines throughput and accuracy. As a result, reference gene collections remain incomplete-many gene models are fragmentary, and thousands more remain uncataloged, particularly for long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs). To accelerate lncRNA annotation, the GENCODE consortium has developed RNA Capture Long Seq (CLS), which combines targeted RNA capture with third-generation long-read sequencing. Here we present an experimental reannotation of the GENCODE intergenic lncRNA populations in matched human and mouse tissues that resulted in novel transcript models for 3,574 and 561 gene loci, respectively. CLS approximately doubled the annotated complexity of targeted loci, outperforming existing short-read techniques. Full-length transcript models produced by CLS enabled us to definitively characterize the genomic features of lncRNAs, including promoter and gene structure, and protein-coding potential. Thus, CLS removes a long-standing bottleneck in transcriptome annotation and generates manual-quality full-length transcript models at high-throughput scales.

Site of pheromone biosynthesis and isolation of HMG-CoA reductase cDNA in the cotton boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis.

PubMed

Taban, A Huma; Fu, Jessica; Blake, Jacob; Awano, Ami; Tittiger, Claus; Blomquist, Gary J

2006-08-01

Isolated gut tissue from male cotton boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), incorporated radiolabeled acetate into components that co-eluted with monoterpenoid pheromone components on HPLC. This demonstrates that pheromone components of male A. grandis are produced de novo and strongly suggests that pheromone biosynthesis occurs in gut tissue. A central enzyme in isoprenoid biosynthesis is 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMG-R), and a full-length HMG-R cDNA was isolated from A. grandis. The predicted translation product was 54 and 45% identical to HMG-R from Ips paraconfusus and Drosophila melanogaster, respectively. HMG-R gene expression gradually increased with age in male A. grandis, which correlates with pheromone production. However, topical application of JH III did not significantly increase HMG-R mRNA levels.

Developmental toxicity of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in zebrafish embryos.

PubMed

Li, Kang; Wu, Jia-Qi; Jiang, Ling-Ling; Shen, Li-Zhen; Li, Jian-Ying; He, Zhi-Heng; Wei, Ping; Lv, Zhuo; He, Ming-Fang

2017-03-01

2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) is widely used in agriculture as herbicide/pesticide, plant growth regulator and fruit preservative agent. It progressively accumulates in the environment including surface water, air and soil. It could be detected in human food and urine, which poses great risk to the living organisms. In the present study, we investigated the developmental toxicity of 2,4-D on zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo. 2,4-D exposure significantly decreased both the survival rate (LC 50  = 46.71 mg/L) and hatching rate (IC 50  = 46.26 mg/L) of zebrafish embryos. The most common developmental defect in 2,4-D treated embryos was pericardial edema. 2,4-D (25 mg/L) upregulated marker genes of cardiac development (vmhc, amhc, hand2, vegf, and gata1) and downregulated marker genes of oxidative stress (cat and gpx1a). Whole mount in situ hybridization confirmed the vmhc and amhc upregulation by 2,4-D treatment. LC/MS/MS showed that the bioaccumulation of 2,4-D in zebrafish embryos were increased in a time-dependent manner after 25 mg/L of 2,4-D treatment. Taken together, our study investigated the toxic effects of 2,4-D on zebrafish embryonic development and its potential molecular mechanisms, gave evidence for the full understanding of 2,4-D toxicity on living organisms and shed light on its environmental impact. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Method for somatic cell nuclear transfer in zebrafish.

PubMed

Siripattarapravat, Kannika; Cibelli, Jose B

2011-01-01

Somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has been a well-known technique for decades and widely applied to generate identical animals, including ones with genetic alterations. The system has been demonstrated successfully in zebrafish. The elaborated requirements of SCNT, however, limit reproducibility of the established model to a few groups in zebrafish research community. In this chapter, we meticulously outline each step of the published protocol as well as preparations of equipments and reagents used in zebrafish SCNT. All describable detailed-tips are elaborated in texts and figures. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Anxiogenic-like effects of chronic nicotine exposure in zebrafish.

PubMed

Stewart, Adam Michael; Grossman, Leah; Collier, Adam D; Echevarria, David J; Kalueff, Allan V

2015-12-01

Nicotine is one of the most widely used and abused legal drugs. Although its pharmacological profile has been extensively investigated in humans and rodents, nicotine CNS action remains poorly understood. The importance of finding evolutionarily conserved signaling pathways, and the need to apply high-throughput in vivo screens for CNS drug discovery, necessitate novel efficient experimental models for nicotine research. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are rapidly emerging as an excellent organism for studying drug abuse, neuropharmacology and toxicology and have recently been applied to testing nicotine. Anxiolytic, rewarding and memory-modulating effects of acute nicotine treatment in zebrafish are consistently reported in the literature. However, while nicotine abuse is more relevant to long-term exposure models, little is known about chronic effects of nicotine on zebrafish behavior. In the present study, chronic 4-day exposure to 1-2mg/L nicotine mildly increased adult zebrafish shoaling but did not alter baseline cortisol levels. We also found that chronic exposure to nicotine evokes robust anxiogenic behavioral responses in zebrafish tested in the novel tank test paradigm. Generally paralleling clinical and rodent data on anxiogenic effects of chronic nicotine, our study supports the developing utility of zebrafish for nicotine research. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Distinct Functions of Different scl Isoforms in Zebrafish Definitive Hematopoietic Stem Cell Initiation and Maintenance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lan, Yahui

2011-07-01

The establishment of entire blood system relies on the multi-potent hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), thus identifying the molecular mechanism in HSC generation is of importance for not only complementing the fundamental knowledge in stem cell biology, but also providing insights to the regenerative therapies. Recent researches have documented the formation of nascent HSCs through a direct transition from ventral aortic endothelium, named as endothelial hematopoietic transition (EHT) process. However, the precise genetic program engaged in this process remains largely elusive. The transcription factor scl plays pivotal and conserved roles in embryonic and adult hematopoiesis from teleosts to mammals. Our lab have previously identified a new truncated scl isoform, scl-beta, which is indispensible for the specification of HSCs in the ventral wall of dorsal aorta (VDA), the zebrafish equivalent of mammalian fetal hematopoietic organ. Here we observe that, by combining time-lapse confocal imaging of transgenic zebrafish and genetic epistasis analysis, scl-beta is expressed in a subset of ventral aortic endothelial cells and critical for their forthcoming transformation to hemogenic endothelium; in contrast, runx1 is required downstream to govern the successful egress of the hemogenic endothelial cells to become naive HSCs. In addition, the traditional known full-length scl-alpha isoform is firstly evidenced to be required for the maintenance or survival of newly formed HSCs in VDA. Collectively our data has established the genetic hierarchy controlling discrete steps in the consecutive process of HSC formation from endothelial cells and further development in VDA.

Zebrafish Models of Human Leukemia: Technological Advances and Mechanistic Insights.

PubMed

Harrison, Nicholas R; Laroche, Fabrice J F; Gutierrez, Alejandro; Feng, Hui

2016-01-01

Insights concerning leukemic pathophysiology have been acquired in various animal models and further efforts to understand the mechanisms underlying leukemic treatment resistance and disease relapse promise to improve therapeutic strategies. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a vertebrate organism with a conserved hematopoietic program and unique experimental strengths suiting it for the investigation of human leukemia. Recent technological advances in zebrafish research including efficient transgenesis, precise genome editing, and straightforward transplantation techniques have led to the generation of a number of leukemia models. The transparency of the zebrafish when coupled with improved lineage-tracing and imaging techniques has revealed exquisite details of leukemic initiation, progression, and regression. With these advantages, the zebrafish represents a unique experimental system for leukemic research and additionally, advances in zebrafish-based high-throughput drug screening promise to hasten the discovery of novel leukemia therapeutics. To date, investigators have accumulated knowledge of the genetic underpinnings critical to leukemic transformation and treatment resistance and without doubt, zebrafish are rapidly expanding our understanding of disease mechanisms and helping to shape therapeutic strategies for improved outcomes in leukemic patients.

Zebrafish Models of Human Leukemia: Technological Advances and Mechanistic Insights

PubMed Central

Harrison, Nicholas R.; Laroche, Fabrice J.F.; Gutierrez, Alejandro

2016-01-01

Insights concerning leukemic pathophysiology have been acquired in various animal models and further efforts to understand the mechanisms underlying leukemic treatment resistance and disease relapse promise to improve therapeutic strategies. The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is a vertebrate organism with a conserved hematopoietic program and unique experimental strengths suiting it for the investigation of human leukemia. Recent technological advances in zebrafish research including efficient transgenesis, precise genome editing, and straightforward transplantation techniques have led to the generation of a number of leukemia models. The transparency of the zebrafish when coupled with improved lineage-tracing and imaging techniques has revealed exquisite details of leukemic initiation, progression, and regression. With these advantages, the zebrafish represents a unique experimental system for leukemic research and additionally, advances in zebrafish-based high-throughput drug screening promise to hasten the discovery of novel leukemia therapeutics. To date, investigators have accumulated knowledge of the genetic underpinnings critical to leukemic transformation and treatment resistance and without doubt, zebrafish are rapidly expanding our understanding of disease mechanisms and helping to shape therapeutic strategies for improved outcomes in leukemic patients. PMID:27165361

Production of zebrafish cardiospheres and cardiac progenitor cells in vitro and three-dimensional culture of adult zebrafish cardiac tissue in scaffolds.

PubMed

Zeng, Wendy R; Beh, Siew-Joo; Bryson-Richardson, Robert J; Doran, Pauline M

2017-09-01

The hearts of adult zebrafish (Danio rerio) are capable of complete regeneration in vivo even after major injury, making this species of particular interest for understanding the growth and differentiation processes required for cardiac tissue engineering. To date, little research has been carried out on in vitro culture of adult zebrafish cardiac cells. In this work, progenitor-rich cardiospheres suitable for cardiomyocyte differentiation and myocardial regeneration were produced from adult zebrafish hearts. The cardiospheres contained a mixed population of c-kit + and Mef2c + cells; proliferative peripheral cells of possible mesenchymal lineage were also observed. Cellular outgrowth from cardiac explants and cardiospheres was enhanced significantly using conditioned medium harvested from cultures of a rainbow trout cell line, suggesting that fish-specific trophic factors are required for zebrafish cardiac cell expansion. Three-dimensional culture of zebrafish heart cells in fibrous polyglycolic acid (PGA) scaffolds was carried out under dynamic fluid flow conditions. High levels of cell viability and cardiomyocyte differentiation were maintained within the scaffolds. Expression of cardiac troponin T, a marker of differentiated cardiomyocytes, increased during the first 7 days of scaffold culture; after 15 days, premature disintegration of the biodegradable scaffolds led to cell detachment and a decline in differentiation status. This work expands our technical capabilities for three-dimensional zebrafish cardiac cell culture with potential applications in tissue engineering, drug and toxicology screening, and ontogeny research. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2017;114: 2142-2148. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Structure and activity of full-length formin mDia1

PubMed Central

Maiti, Sankar; Michelot, Alphee; Gould, Christopher; Blanchoin, Laurent; Sokolova, Olga; Goode, Bruce L.

2012-01-01

Formins are a conserved family of actin assembly-promoting factors with essential and diverse biological roles. Most of our biochemical understanding of formin effects on actin dynamics is derived from studies using formin fragments. In addition, all structural information on formins has been limited to fragments. This has left open key questions about the structure, activity and regulation of intact formin proteins. Here, we isolated full-length mouse mDia1 (mDia1-FL) and found that it forms tightly autoinhibited dimers that can only be partially activated by RhoA. We solved the structure of autoinhibited mDia1-FL using electron microscopy and single particle analysis. Docking of crystal structures into the 3D reconstruction revealed that the fork-shaped N-terminal DID-CC region hangs over the ring-shaped FH2 domain, suggesting that autoinhibition results from steric obstruction of actin binding. Deletion of the C-terminal DAD domain extended mDia1 structure and activated it for actin assembly. Using TIRF microscopy, we observed that RhoA-activated mDia1-FL persistently accelerated filament elongation in the presence of profilin similar to mDia1 FH1-FH2 fragment. These observations validate the known activities of FH1-FH2 fragments as reflecting those of the intact molecule. Our results further suggest that mDia1-FL does not readily snap back into the autoinhibited conformation and dissociate from growing filament ends, and thus additional factors may be required to displace formins and restrict filament length. PMID:22605659

[10]-Gingerdiols as the major metabolites of [10]-gingerol in zebrafish embryos and in humans and their hematopoietic effects in zebrafish embryos

PubMed Central

Chen, Huadong; Soroka, Dominique N.; Haider, Jamil; Ferri-Lagneau, Karine F.; Leung, TinChung; Sang, Shengmin

2013-01-01

Gingerols are a series of major constituents in fresh ginger with the most abundant being [6]-, [8]-, and [10]-gingerols (6G, 8G, and 10G). We previously found that ginger extract and its purified components, especially 10G, potentially stimulate both the primitive and definitive waves of hematopoiesis (blood cell formation) in zebrafish embryos. However, it is still unclear if the metabolites of 10G retain the efficacy of the parent compound towards pathological anemia treatment. In the present study, we first investigated the metabolism of 10G in zebrafish embryos, and then explored the biotransformation of 10G in humans. Our results show that 10G was extensively metabolized in both zebrafish embryos and in humans, in which two major metabolites, (3S,5S)-[10]-gingerdiol and (3R,5S)-[10]-gingerdiol, were identified by analysis of the MSn spectra and comparison to authentic standards that we synthesized. After 24 hours of treatment of zebrafish embryos, 10G was mostly converted to its metabolites. Our results clearly indicate the reductive pathway is a major metabolic route for 10G in both zebrafish embryos and in humans. Furthermore, we investigated the hematopoietic effect of 10G and its two metabolites, which show similar hematopoietic effects as 10G in zebrafish embryos. PMID:23701129

Zebrafish for the Study of the Biological Effects of Nicotine

PubMed Central

Klee, Eric W.; Schneider, Henning; Hurt, Richard D.; Ekker, Stephen C.

2011-01-01

Introduction: Zebrafish are emerging as a powerful animal model for studying the molecular and physiological effects of nicotine exposure. The zebrafish have many advantageous physical characteristics, including small size, high fecundity rates, and externally developing transparent embryos. When combined with a battery of molecular–genetic tools and behavioral assays, these attributes enable studies to be conducted that are not practical using traditional animal models. Methods: We reviewed the literature on the application of the zebrafish model as a preclinical model to study the biological effects of nicotine exposure. Results: The identified studies used zebrafish to examine the effects of nicotine exposure on early development, addiction, anxiety, and learning. The methods used included green fluorescent protein–labeled proteins to track in vivo nicotine-altered neuron development, nicotine-conditioned place preference, and locomotive sensitization linked with high-throughput molecular and genetic screens and behavioral models of learning and stress response to nicotine. Data are presented on the complete homology of all known human neural nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in zebrafish and on the biological similarity of human and zebrafish dopaminergic signaling. Conclusions: Tobacco dependence remains a major health problem worldwide. Further understanding of the molecular effects of nicotine exposure and genetic contributions to dependence may lead to improvement in patient treatment strategies. While there are limitations to the use of zebrafish as a preclinical model, it should provide a valuable tool to complement existing model systems. The reviewed studies demonstrate the enormous opportunity zebrafish have to advance the science of nicotine and tobacco research. PMID:21385906

Infectious Maize rayado fino virus from cloned cDNA

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Maize rayado fino virus (MRFV) is the type member of the marafiviruses within the family Tymoviridae. A cDNA clone from which infectious RNA can be transcribed was produced from a US isolate of MRFV (MRFV-US). Infectivity of transcripts derived from cDNA clones was demonstrated by infection of mai...

In vivo physiological recording from the lateral line of juvenile zebrafish

PubMed Central

Olt, Jennifer; Allen, Claire E.

2016-01-01

Key points Zebrafish provide a unique opportunity to investigate in vivo sensory transduction in mature hair cells.We have developed a method for studying the biophysical properties of mature hair cells from the lateral line of juvenile zebrafish.The method involves application of the anaesthetic benzocaine and intubation to maintain ventilation and oxygenation through the gills.The same approach could be used for in vivo functional studies in other sensory and non‐sensory systems from juvenile and adult zebrafish. Abstract Hair cells are sensory receptors responsible for transducing auditory and vestibular information into electrical signals, which are then transmitted with remarkable precision to afferent neurons. The zebrafish lateral line is emerging as an excellent in vivo model for genetic and physiological analysis of hair cells and neurons. However, research has been limited to larval stages because zebrafish become protected from the time of independent feeding under European law (from 5.2 days post‐fertilization (dpf) at 28.5°C). In larval zebrafish, the functional properties of most of hair cells, as well as those of other excitable cells, are still immature. We have developed an experimental protocol to record electrophysiological properties from hair cells of the lateral line in juvenile zebrafish. We found that the anaesthetic benzocaine at 50 mg l−1 was an effective and safe anaesthetic to use on juvenile zebrafish. Concentrations up to 300 mg l−1 did not affect the electrical properties or synaptic vesicle release of juvenile hair cells, unlike the commonly used anaesthetic MS‐222, which reduces the size of basolateral membrane K+ currents. Additionally, we implemented a method to maintain gill movement, and as such respiration and blood oxygenation, via the intubation of > 21 dpf zebrafish. The combination of benzocaine and intubation provides an experimental platform to investigate the physiology of mature hair cells from live

A review of monoaminergic neuropsychopharmacology in zebrafish.

PubMed

Maximino, Caio; Herculano, Anderson Manoel

2010-12-01

Monoamine neurotransmitters are the major regulatory mechanisms in the vertebrate brain, involved in the adjustment of motivation, emotion, and cognition. The chemical anatomy of these systems is thought to be highly conserved in the brain of all vertebrates, including zebrafish. Recently, the development of behavioral assays in zebrafish allowed the neuropsychopharmacological investigation of these circuits and its functions. Here we review neuroanatomical, genetic, neurochemical, and psychopharmacological evidence regarding the roles of histaminergic, dopaminergic, noradrenergic, serotonergic, and melatonergic systems in this species. We conclude that, in spite of species differences, zebrafish are suitable for the investigation of neuropsychopharmacology of drugs that affect theses systems; nonetheless, more thorough validation of behavioral methods is still needed.

Lectin cDNA and transgenic plants derived therefrom

DOEpatents

Raikhel, N.V.

1994-01-04

Transgenic plants containing cDNA encoding Gramineae lectin are described. The plants preferably contain cDNA coding for barley lectin and store the lectin in the leaves. The transgenic plants, particularly the leaves exhibit insecticidal and fungicidal properties. GOVERNMENT RIGHTS This application was funded under Department of Energy Contract DE-AC02-76ER01338. The U.S. Government has certain rights under this application and any patent issuing thereon. .

Lectin cDNA and transgenic plants derived therefrom

DOEpatents

Raikhel, Natasha V.

1994-01-04

Transgenic plants containing cDNA encoding Gramineae lectin are described. The plants preferably contain cDNA coding for barley lectin and store the lectin in the leaves. The transgenic plants, particularly the leaves exhibit insecticidal and fungicidal properties. GOVERNMENT RIGHTS This application was funded under Department of Energy Contract DE-AC02-76ER01338. The U.S. Government has certain rights under this application and any patent issuing thereon.

C2orf62 and TTC17 are involved in actin organization and ciliogenesis in zebrafish and human.

PubMed

Bontems, Franck; Fish, Richard J; Borlat, Irene; Lembo, Frédérique; Chocu, Sophie; Chalmel, Frédéric; Borg, Jean-Paul; Pineau, Charles; Neerman-Arbez, Marguerite; Bairoch, Amos; Lane, Lydie

2014-01-01

Vertebrate genomes contain around 20,000 protein-encoding genes, of which a large fraction is still not associated with specific functions. A major task in future genomics will thus be to assign physiological roles to all open reading frames revealed by genome sequencing. Here we show that C2orf62, a highly conserved protein with little homology to characterized proteins, is strongly expressed in testis in zebrafish and mammals, and in various types of ciliated cells during zebrafish development. By yeast two hybrid and GST pull-down, C2orf62 was shown to interact with TTC17, another uncharacterized protein. Depletion of either C2orf62 or TTC17 in human ciliated cells interferes with actin polymerization and reduces the number of primary cilia without changing their length. Zebrafish embryos injected with morpholinos against C2orf62 or TTC17, or with mRNA coding for the C2orf62 C-terminal part containing a RII dimerization/docking (R2D2) - like domain show morphological defects consistent with imperfect ciliogenesis. We provide here the first evidence for a C2orf62-TTC17 axis that would regulate actin polymerization and ciliogenesis.

Novel full-length major histocompatibility complex class I allele discovery and haplotype definition in pig-tailed macaques.

PubMed

Semler, Matthew R; Wiseman, Roger W; Karl, Julie A; Graham, Michael E; Gieger, Samantha M; O'Connor, David H

2018-06-01

Pig-tailed macaques (Macaca nemestrina, Mane) are important models for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) studies. Their infectability with minimally modified HIV makes them a uniquely valuable animal model to mimic human infection with HIV and progression to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). However, variation in the pig-tailed macaque major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and the impact of individual transcripts on the pathogenesis of HIV and other infectious diseases is understudied compared to that of rhesus and cynomolgus macaques. In this study, we used Pacific Biosciences single-molecule real-time circular consensus sequencing to describe full-length MHC class I (MHC-I) transcripts for 194 pig-tailed macaques from three breeding centers. We then used the full-length sequences to infer Mane-A and Mane-B haplotypes containing groups of MHC-I transcripts that co-segregate due to physical linkage. In total, we characterized full-length open reading frames (ORFs) for 313 Mane-A, Mane-B, and Mane-I sequences that defined 86 Mane-A and 106 Mane-B MHC-I haplotypes. Pacific Biosciences technology allows us to resolve these Mane-A and Mane-B haplotypes to the level of synonymous allelic variants. The newly defined haplotypes and transcript sequences containing full-length ORFs provide an important resource for infectious disease researchers as certain MHC haplotypes have been shown to provide exceptional control of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) replication and prevention of AIDS-like disease in nonhuman primates. The increased allelic resolution provided by Pacific Biosciences sequencing also benefits transplant research by allowing researchers to more specifically match haplotypes between donors and recipients to the level of nonsynonymous allelic variation, thus reducing the risk of graft-versus-host disease.

Understanding behavioral and physiological phenotypes of stress and anxiety in zebrafish.

PubMed

Egan, Rupert J; Bergner, Carisa L; Hart, Peter C; Cachat, Jonathan M; Canavello, Peter R; Elegante, Marco F; Elkhayat, Salem I; Bartels, Brett K; Tien, Anna K; Tien, David H; Mohnot, Sopan; Beeson, Esther; Glasgow, Eric; Amri, Hakima; Zukowska, Zofia; Kalueff, Allan V

2009-12-14

The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is emerging as a promising model organism for experimental studies of stress and anxiety. Here we further validate zebrafish models of stress by analyzing how environmental and pharmacological manipulations affect their behavioral and physiological phenotypes. Experimental manipulations included exposure to alarm pheromone, chronic exposure to fluoxetine, acute exposure to caffeine, as well as acute and chronic exposure to ethanol. Acute (but not chronic) alarm pheromone and acute caffeine produced robust anxiogenic effects, including reduced exploration, increased erratic movements and freezing behavior in zebrafish tested in the novel tank diving test. In contrast, ethanol and fluoxetine had robust anxiolytic effects, including increased exploration and reduced erratic movements. The behavior of several zebrafish strains was also quantified to ascertain differences in their behavioral profiles, revealing high-anxiety (leopard, albino) and low-anxiety (wild type) strains. We also used LocoScan (CleverSys Inc.) video-tracking tool to quantify anxiety-related behaviors in zebrafish, and dissect anxiety-related phenotypes from locomotor activity. Finally, we developed a simple and effective method of measuring zebrafish physiological stress responses (based on a human salivary cortisol assay), and showed that alterations in whole-body cortisol levels in zebrafish parallel behavioral indices of anxiety. Collectively, our results confirm zebrafish as a valid, reliable, and high-throughput model of stress and affective disorders.

Using zebrafish in systems toxicology for developmental toxicity testing.

PubMed

Nishimura, Yuhei; Inoue, Atsuto; Sasagawa, Shota; Koiwa, Junko; Kawaguchi, Koki; Kawase, Reiko; Maruyama, Toru; Kim, Soonih; Tanaka, Toshio

2016-01-01

With the high cost and the long-term assessment of developmental toxicity testing in mammals, the vertebrate zebrafish has become a useful alternative model organism for high-throughput developmental toxicity testing. Zebrafish is also very favorable for the 3R perspective in toxicology; however, the methodologies used by research groups vary greatly, posing considerable challenges to integrative analysis. In this review, we discuss zebrafish developmental toxicity testing, focusing on the methods of chemical exposure, the assessment of morphological abnormalities, housing conditions and their effects on the production of healthy embryos, and future directions. Zebrafish as a systems toxicology model has the potential to elucidate developmental toxicity pathways, and to provide a sound basis for human health risk assessments. © 2015 Japanese Teratology Society.

Social learning of an associative foraging task in zebrafish

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zala, Sarah M.; Määttänen, Ilmari

2013-05-01

The zebrafish ( Danio rerio) is increasingly becoming an important model species for studies on the genetic and neural mechanisms controlling behaviour and cognition. Here, we utilized a conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm to study social learning in zebrafish. We tested whether social interactions with conditioned demonstrators enhance the ability of focal naïve individuals to learn an associative foraging task. We found that the presence of conditioned demonstrators improved focal fish foraging behaviour through the process of social transmission, whereas the presence of inexperienced demonstrators interfered with the learning of the control focal fish. Our results indicate that zebrafish use social learning for finding food and that this CPP paradigm is an efficient assay to study social learning and memory in zebrafish.

Tracking zebrafish larvae in group – Status and perspectives☆

PubMed Central

Martineau, Pierre R.; Mourrain, Philippe

2013-01-01

Video processing is increasingly becoming a standard procedure in zebrafish behavior investigations as it enables higher research throughput and new or better measures. This trend, fostered by the ever increasing performance-to-price ratio of the required recording and processing equipment, should be expected to continue in the foreseeable future, with video-processing based methods permeating more and more experiments and, as a result, expanding the very role of behavioral studies in zebrafish research. To assess whether the routine video tracking of zebrafish larvae directly in the Petri dish is a capability that can be expected in the near future, the key processing concepts are discussed and illustrated on published zebrafish studies when available or other animals when not. PMID:23707495

Hybrid Sequencing of Full-Length cDNA Transcripts of Stems and Leaves in Dendrobium officinale

PubMed Central

He, Liu; Fu, Shuhua; Xu, Zhichao; Yan, Jun; Xu, Jiang; Zhou, Hong; Zhou, Jianguo; Chen, Xinlian; Li, Ying; Au, Kin Fai; Yao, Hui

2017-01-01

Dendrobium officinale is an extremely valuable orchid used in traditional Chinese medicine, so sought after that it has a higher market value than gold. Although the expression profiles of some genes involved in the polysaccharide synthesis have previously been investigated, little research has been carried out on their alternatively spliced isoforms in D. officinale. In addition, information regarding the translocation of sugars from leaves to stems in D. officinale also remains limited. We analyzed the polysaccharide content of D. officinale leaves and stems, and completed in-depth transcriptome sequencing of these two diverse tissue types using second-generation sequencing (SGS) and single-molecule real-time (SMRT) sequencing technology. The results of this study yielded a digital inventory of gene and mRNA isoform expressions. A comparative analysis of both transcriptomes uncovered a total of 1414 differentially expressed genes, including 844 that were up-regulated and 570 that were down-regulated in stems. Of these genes, one sugars will eventually be exported transporter (SWEET) and one sucrose transporter (SUT) are expressed to a greater extent in D. officinale stems than in leaves. Two glycosyltransferase (GT) and four cellulose synthase (Ces) genes undergo a distinct degree of alternative splicing. In the stems, the content of polysaccharides is twice as much as that in the leaves. The differentially expressed GT and transcription factor (TF) genes will be the focus of further study. The genes DoSWEET4 and DoSUT1 are significantly expressed in the stem, and are likely to be involved in sugar loading in the phloem. PMID:28981454

High-Content Screening in Zebrafish Embryos Identifies Butafenacil as a Potent Inducer of Anemia

PubMed Central

Leet, Jessica K.; Lindberg, Casey D.; Bassett, Luke A.; Isales, Gregory M.; Yozzo, Krystle L.; Raftery, Tara D.; Volz, David C.

2014-01-01

Using transgenic zebrafish (fli1:egfp) that stably express enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) within vascular endothelial cells, we recently developed and optimized a 384-well high-content screening (HCS) assay that enables us to screen and identify chemicals affecting cardiovascular development and function at non-teratogenic concentrations. Within this assay, automated image acquisition procedures and custom image analysis protocols are used to quantify body length, heart rate, circulation, pericardial area, and intersegmental vessel area within individual live embryos exposed from 5 to 72 hours post-fertilization. After ranking developmental toxicity data generated from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) zebrafish teratogenesis assay, we screened 26 of the most acutely toxic chemicals within EPA's ToxCast Phase-I library in concentration-response format (0.05–50 µM) using this HCS assay. Based on this screen, we identified butafenacil as a potent inducer of anemia, as exposure from 0.39 to 3.125 µM butafenacil completely abolished arterial circulation in the absence of effects on all other endpoints evaluated. Butafenacil is an herbicide that inhibits protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO) – an enzyme necessary for heme production in vertebrates. Using o-dianisidine staining, we then revealed that severe butafenacil-induced anemia in zebrafish was due to a complete loss of hemoglobin following exposure during early development. Therefore, six additional PPO inhibitors within the ToxCast Phase-I library were screened to determine whether anemia represents a common adverse outcome for these herbicides. Embryonic exposure to only one of these PPO inhibitors – flumioxazin – resulted in a similar phenotype as butafenacil, albeit not as severe as butafenacil. Overall, this study highlights the potential utility of this assay for (1) screening chemicals for cardiovascular toxicity and (2) prioritizing chemicals for future hypothesis

Primary Spinal OPC Culture System from Adult Zebrafish to Study Oligodendrocyte Differentiation In Vitro.

PubMed

Kroehne, Volker; Tsata, Vasiliki; Marrone, Lara; Froeb, Claudia; Reinhardt, Susanne; Gompf, Anne; Dahl, Andreas; Sterneckert, Jared; Reimer, Michell M

2017-01-01

Endogenous oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) are a promising target to improve functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI) by remyelinating denuded, and therefore vulnerable, axons. Demyelination is the result of a primary insult and secondary injury, leading to conduction blocks and long-term degeneration of the axons, which subsequently can lead to the loss of their neurons. In response to SCI, dormant OPCs can be activated and subsequently start to proliferate and differentiate into mature myelinating oligodendrocytes (OLs). Therefore, researchers strive to control OPC responses, and utilize small molecule screening approaches in order to identify mechanisms of OPC activation, proliferation, migration and differentiation. In zebrafish, OPCs remyelinate axons of the optic tract after lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC)-induced demyelination back to full thickness myelin sheaths. In contrast to zebrafish, mammalian OPCs are highly vulnerable to excitotoxic stress, a cause of secondary injury, and remyelination remains insufficient. Generally, injury induced remyelination leads to shorter internodes and thinner myelin sheaths in mammals. In this study, we show that myelin sheaths are lost early after a complete spinal transection injury, but are re-established within 14 days after lesion. We introduce a novel, easy-to-use, inexpensive and highly reproducible OPC culture system based on dormant spinal OPCs from adult zebrafish that enables in vitro analysis. Zebrafish OPCs are robust, can easily be purified with high viability and taken into cell culture. This method enables to examine why zebrafish OPCs remyelinate better than their mammalian counterparts, identify cell intrinsic responses, which could lead to pro-proliferating or pro-differentiating strategies, and to test small molecule approaches. In this methodology paper, we show efficient isolation of OPCs from adult zebrafish spinal cord and describe culture conditions that enable analysis up to 10

Genome-wide comparisons of phylogenetic similarities between partial genomic regions and the full-length genome in Hepatitis E virus genotyping.

PubMed

Wang, Shuai; Wei, Wei; Luo, Xuenong; Cai, Xuepeng

2014-01-01

Besides the complete genome, different partial genomic sequences of Hepatitis E virus (HEV) have been used in genotyping studies, making it difficult to compare the results based on them. No commonly agreed partial region for HEV genotyping has been determined. In this study, we used a statistical method to evaluate the phylogenetic performance of each partial genomic sequence from a genome wide, by comparisons of evolutionary distances between genomic regions and the full-length genomes of 101 HEV isolates to identify short genomic regions that can reproduce HEV genotype assignments based on full-length genomes. Several genomic regions, especially one genomic region at the 3'-terminal of the papain-like cysteine protease domain, were detected to have relatively high phylogenetic correlations with the full-length genome. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the identical performances between these regions and the full-length genome in genotyping, in which the HEV isolates involved could be divided into reasonable genotypes. This analysis may be of value in developing a partial sequence-based consensus classification of HEV species.

The cytomegalovirus promoter-driven short hairpin RNA constructs mediate effective RNA interference in zebrafish in vivo.

PubMed

Su, Jianguo; Zhu, Zuoyan; Wang, Yaping; Xiong, Feng; Zou, Jun

2008-01-01

The ability to utilize the RNA interference (RNAi) machinery for silencing target-gene expression has created a lot of excitement in the research community. In the present study, we used a cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter-driven DNA template approach to induce short hairpin RNA (shRNA) triggered RNAi to block exogenous Enhanced Green Fluorescent Protein (EGFP) and endogenous No Tail (NTL) gene expressions. We constructed three plasmids, pCMV-EGFP-CMV-shGFP-SV40, pCMV-EGFP-CMV-shNTL-SV40, and pCMV-EGFP-CMV-shScrambled-SV40, each containing a CMV promoter driving an EGFP reporter cDNA and DNA coding for one shRNA under the control of another CMV promoter. The three shRNA-generating plasmids and pCMV-EGFP control plasmid were introduced into zebrafish embryos by microinjection. Samples were collected at 48 h after injection. Results were evaluated by phenotype observation and real-time fluorescent quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR). The shGFP-generating plasmid significantly inhibited the EGFP expression viewed under fluorescent microscope and reduced by 70.05 +/- 1.26% of exogenous EGFP gene mRNA levels compared with controls by Q-PCR. The shRNA targeting endogenous NTL gene resulted in obvious NTL phenotype of 30 +/- 4% and decreased the level of their corresponding mRNAs up to 54.52 +/- 2.05% compared with nontargeting control shRNA. These data proved the feasibility of the CMV promoter-driven shRNA expression technique to be used to inhibit exogenous and endogenous gene expressions in zebrafish in vivo.

In vivo myosin step-size from zebrafish skeletal muscle

PubMed Central

Ajtai, Katalin; Sun, Xiaojing; Takubo, Naoko; Wang, Yihua

2016-01-01

Muscle myosins transduce ATP free energy into actin displacement to power contraction. In vivo, myosin side chains are modified post-translationally under native conditions, potentially impacting function. Single myosin detection provides the ‘bottom-up’ myosin characterization probing basic mechanisms without ambiguities inherent to ensemble observation. Macroscopic muscle physiological experimentation provides the definitive ‘top-down’ phenotype characterizations that are the concerns in translational medicine. In vivo single myosin detection in muscle from zebrafish embryo models for human muscle fulfils ambitions for both bottom-up and top-down experimentation. A photoactivatable green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged myosin light chain expressed in transgenic zebrafish skeletal muscle specifically modifies the myosin lever-arm. Strychnine induces the simultaneous contraction of the bilateral tail muscles in a live embryo, causing them to be isometric while active. Highly inclined thin illumination excites the GFP tag of single lever-arms and its super-resolution orientation is measured from an active isometric muscle over a time sequence covering many transduction cycles. Consecutive frame lever-arm angular displacement converts to step-size by its product with the estimated lever-arm length. About 17% of the active myosin steps that fall between 2 and 7 nm are implicated as powerstrokes because they are beyond displacements detected from either relaxed or ATP-depleted (rigor) muscle. PMID:27249818

Kidney organogenesis in the zebrafish: insights into vertebrate nephrogenesis and regeneration

PubMed Central

Gerlach, Gary F.; Wingert, Rebecca A.

2012-01-01

Vertebrates form a progressive series of up to three kidney organs during development—the pronephros, mesonephros, and metanephros. Each kidney derives from the intermediate mesoderm and is comprised of conserved excretory units called nephrons. The zebrafish is a powerful model for vertebrate developmental genetics, and recent studies have illustrated that zebrafish and mammals share numerous similarities in nephron composition and physiology. The zebrafish embryo forms an architecturally simple pronephros that has two nephrons, and these eventually become a scaffold onto which a mesonephros of several hundred nephrons is constructed during larval stages. In adult zebrafish, the mesonephros exhibits ongoing nephrogenesis, generating new nephrons from a local pool of renal progenitors during periods of growth or following kidney injury. The characteristics of the zebrafish pronephros and mesonephros make them genetically tractable kidney systems in which to study the functions of renal genes and address outstanding questions about the mechanisms of nephrogenesis. Here, we provide an overview of the formation and composition of these zebrafish kidney organs, and discuss how various zebrafish mutants, gene knockdowns, and transgenic models have created frameworks in which to further delineate nephrogenesis pathways. PMID:24014448

Cardiac Ca2+ signalling in zebrafish: Translation of findings to man.

PubMed

van Opbergen, Chantal J M; van der Voorn, Stephanie M; Vos, Marc A; de Boer, Teun P; van Veen, Toon A B

2018-05-07

Sudden cardiac death is a leading cause of death worldwide, mainly caused by highly disturbed electrical activation patterns in the heart. Currently, murine models are the most popular model to study underlying molecular mechanisms of inherited or acquired cardiac electrical abnormalities, although the numerous electrophysiological discrepancies between mouse and human raise the question whether mice are the optimal model to study cardiac rhythm disorders. Recently it has been uncovered that the zebrafish cardiac electrophysiology seems surprisingly similar to the human heart, mainly because the zebrafish AP contains a clear plateau phase and ECG characteristics show alignment with the human ECG. Although, before using zebrafish as a model to study cardiac arrhythmogenesis, however, it is very important to gain a better insight into the electrophysiological characteristics of the zebrafish heart. In this review we outline the electrophysiological machinery of the zebrafish cardiomyocytes, with a special focus on the intracellular Ca 2+ dynamics and excitation-contraction coupling. We debate the potential of zebrafish as a model to study human cardiovascular diseases and postulate steps to employ zebrafish into a more 'humanized' model. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The ontogeny of sleep-wake cycles in zebrafish: a comparison to humans

PubMed Central

Sorribes, Amanda; Þorsteinsson, Haraldur; Arnardóttir, Hrönn; Jóhannesdóttir, Ingibjörg Þ.; Sigurgeirsson, Benjamín; de Polavieja, Gonzalo G.; Karlsson, Karl Æ.

2013-01-01

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are used extensively in sleep research; both to further understanding of sleep in general and also as a model of human sleep. To date, sleep studies have been performed in larval and adult zebrafish but no efforts have been made to document the ontogeny of zebrafish sleep–wake cycles. Because sleep differs across phylogeny and ontogeny it is important to validate the use of zebrafish in elucidating the neural substrates of sleep. Here we describe the development of sleep and wake across the zebrafish lifespan and how it compares to humans. We find power-law distributions to best fit wake bout data but demonstrate that exponential distributions, previously used to describe sleep bout distributions, fail to adequately account for the data in either species. Regardless, the data reveal remarkable similarities in the ontogeny of sleep cycles in zebrafish and humans. Moreover, as seen in other organisms, zebrafish sleep levels are highest early in ontogeny and sleep and wake bouts gradually consolidate to form the adult sleep pattern. Finally, sleep percentage, bout duration, bout number, and sleep fragmentation are shown to allow for meaningful comparisons between zebrafish and human sleep. PMID:24312015

Direct Visualization of DNA Replication Dynamics in Zebrafish Cells.

PubMed

Kuriya, Kenji; Higashiyama, Eriko; Avşar-Ban, Eriko; Tamaru, Yutaka; Ogata, Shin; Takebayashi, Shin-ichiro; Ogata, Masato; Okumura, Katsuzumi

2015-12-01

Spatiotemporal regulation of DNA replication in the S-phase nucleus has been extensively studied in mammalian cells because it is tightly coupled with the regulation of other nuclear processes such as transcription. However, little is known about the replication dynamics in nonmammalian cells. Here, we analyzed the DNA replication processes of zebrafish (Danio rerio) cells through the direct visualization of replicating DNA in the nucleus and on DNA fiber molecules isolated from the nucleus. We found that zebrafish chromosomal DNA at the nuclear interior was replicated first, followed by replication of DNA at the nuclear periphery, which is reminiscent of the spatiotemporal regulation of mammalian DNA replication. However, the relative duration of interior DNA replication in zebrafish cells was longer compared to mammalian cells, possibly reflecting zebrafish-specific genomic organization. The rate of replication fork progression and ori-to-ori distance measured by the DNA combing technique were ∼ 1.4 kb/min and 100 kb, respectively, which are comparable to those in mammalian cells. To our knowledge, this is a first report that measures replication dynamics in zebrafish cells.

Myomaker mediates fusion of fast myocytes in zebrafish embryos

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Landemaine, Aurélie; Rescan, Pierre-Yves; Gabillard, Jean-Charles, E-mail: Jean-charles.gabillard@rennes.inra.fr

2014-09-05

Highlights: • Myomaker is transiently expressed in fast myocytes during embryonic myogenesis. • Myomaker is essential for fast myocyte fusion in zebrafish. • The function of myomaker is conserved among Teleostomi. - Abstract: Myomaker (also called Tmem8c), a new membrane activator of myocyte fusion was recently discovered in mice. Using whole mount in situ hybridization on zebrafish embryos at different stages of embryonic development, we show that myomaker is transiently expressed in fast myocytes forming the bulk of zebrafish myotome. Zebrafish embryos injected with morpholino targeted against myomaker were alive after yolk resorption and appeared morphologically normal, but they weremore » unable to swim, even under effect of a tactile stimulation. Confocal observations showed a marked phenotype characterized by the persistence of mononucleated muscle cells in the fast myotome at developmental stages where these cells normally fuse to form multinucleated myotubes. This indicates that myomaker is essential for myocyte fusion in zebrafish. Thus, there is an evolutionary conservation of myomaker expression and function among Teleostomi.« less

Development of the zebrafish mesonephros.

PubMed

Diep, Cuong Q; Peng, Zhenzhen; Ukah, Tobechukwu K; Kelly, Paul M; Daigle, Renee V; Davidson, Alan J

2015-01-01

The vertebrate kidney plays an essential role in removing metabolic waste and balancing water and salt. This is carried out by nephrons, which comprise a blood filter attached to an epithelial tubule with proximal and distal segments. In zebrafish, two nephrons are first formed as part of the embryonic kidney (pronephros) and hundreds are formed later to make up the adult kidney (mesonephros). Previous studies have focused on the development of the pronephros while considerably less is known about how the mesonephros is formed. Here, we characterize mesonephros development in zebrafish and examine the nephrons that form during larval metamorphosis. These nephrons, arising from proliferating progenitor cells that express the renal transcription factor genes wt1b, pax2a, and lhx1a, form on top of the pronephric tubules and develop a segmentation pattern similar to pronephric nephrons. We find that the pronephros acts as a scaffold for the mesonephros, where new nephrons fuse with the distal segments of the pronephric tubules to form the final branching network that characterizes the adult zebrafish kidney. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Development of the zebrafish mesonephros

PubMed Central

Diep, Cuong Q.; Peng, Zhenzhen; Ukah, Tobechukwu K.; Kelly, Paul M.; Daigle, Renee V.; Davidson, Alan J.

2015-01-01

The vertebrate kidney plays an essential role in removing metabolic waste and balancing water and salt. This is carried out by nephrons, which comprise a blood filter attached to an epithelial tubule with proximal and distal segments. In zebrafish, two nephrons are first formed as part of the embryonic kidney (pronephros) and hundreds are formed later to make up the adult kidney (mesonephros). Previous studies have focused on the development of the pronephros while considerably less is known about how the mesonephros is formed. Here, we characterize mesonephros development in zebrafish and examine the nephrons that form during larval metamorphosis. These nephrons, arising from proliferating progenitor cells that express the renal transcription factor genes wt1b, pax2a, and lhx1a, form on top of the pronephric tubules and develop a segmentation pattern similar to pronephric nephrons. We find that the pronephros acts as a scaffold for the mesonephros, where new nephrons fuse with the distal segments of the pronephric tubules to form the final branching network that characterizes the adult zebrafish kidney. PMID:25677367

cDNA encoding a polypeptide including a hevein sequence

DOEpatents

Raikhel, N.V.; Broekaert, W.F.; Namhai Chua; Kush, A.

1993-02-16

A cDNA clone (HEV1) encoding hevein was isolated via polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using mixed oligonucleotides corresponding to two regions of hevein as primers and a Hevea brasiliensis latex cDNA library as a template. HEV1 is 1,018 nucleotides long and includes an open reading frame of 204 amino acids.

Differential expression of neuroligin genes in the nervous system of zebrafish.

PubMed

Davey, Crystal; Tallafuss, Alexandra; Washbourne, Philip

2010-02-01

The establishment and maturation of appropriate synaptic connections is crucial in the development of neuronal circuits. Cellular adhesion is believed to play a central role in this process. Neuroligins are neuronal cell adhesion molecules that are hypothesized to act in the initial formation and maturation of synaptic connections. In order to establish the zebrafish as a model to investigate the in vivo role of Neuroligin proteins in nervous system development, we identified the zebrafish orthologs of neuroligin family members and characterized their expression. Zebrafish possess seven neuroligin genes. Synteny analysis and sequence comparisons show that NLGN2, NLGN3, and NLGN4X are duplicated in zebrafish, but NLGN1 has a single zebrafish ortholog. All seven zebrafish neuroligins are expressed in complex patterns in the developing nervous system and in the adult brain. The spatial and temporal expression patterns of these genes suggest that they occupy a role in nervous system development and maintenance.

Neoplasia and Neoplasm Associated Lesions in Laboratory Colonies of Zebrafish Emphasizing Key Influences of Diet and Aquaculture System Design

PubMed Central

Spitsbergen, Jan M.; Buhler, Donald R.; Peterson, Tracy S.

2014-01-01

During the past decade the zebrafish has emerged as a leading model for mechanistic cancer research due to its sophisticated genetic and genomic resources, its tractability for tissue targeting of transgene expression, its efficiency for forward genetic approaches to cancer model development, and its cost-effectiveness for enhancer and suppressor screens once a cancer model is established. However, in contrast to other laboratory animal species widely used as cancer models, much basic cancer biology information is lacking in zebrafish. As yet data are not published regarding dietary influences on neoplasm incidences in zebrafish. Little information is available regarding spontaneous tumor incidences or histologic types in wild-type (wt) lines of zebrafish. So far a comprehensive database documenting the full spectrum of neoplasia in various organ systems and tissues in not available for zebrafish as it is for other intensely studied laboratory animal species. This manuscript confirms that as in other species diet and husbandry can profoundly influence tumor incidences and histologic spectra in zebrafish. We show that in many laboratory colonies wt lines of zebrafish exhibit elevated neoplasm incidences and neoplasm associated lesions such as heptocyte megalocytosis. We present experimental evidence showing that certain diet and water management regimens can result in high incidences of neoplasia and neoplasm associated lesions. We document the wide array of benign and malignant neoplasms affecting nearly every organ, tissue and cell type in zebrafish, in some cases as a spontaneous aging change, and in other cases due to carcinogen treatment or genetic manipulation. PMID:23382343

Zebrafish: an important tool for liver disease research.

PubMed

Goessling, Wolfram; Sadler, Kirsten C

2015-11-01

As the incidence of hepatobiliary diseases increases, we must improve our understanding of the molecular, cellular, and physiological factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of liver disease. Animal models help us identify disease mechanisms that might be targeted therapeutically. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) have traditionally been used to study embryonic development but are also important to the study of liver disease. Zebrafish embryos develop rapidly; all of their digestive organs are mature in larvae by 5 days of age. At this stage, they can develop hepatobiliary diseases caused by developmental defects or toxin- or ethanol-induced injury and manifest premalignant changes within weeks. Zebrafish are similar to humans in hepatic cellular composition, function, signaling, and response to injury as well as the cellular processes that mediate liver diseases. Genes are highly conserved between humans and zebrafish, making them a useful system to study the basic mechanisms of liver disease. We can perform genetic screens to identify novel genes involved in specific disease processes and chemical screens to identify pathways and compounds that act on specific processes. We review how studies of zebrafish have advanced our understanding of inherited and acquired liver diseases as well as liver cancer and regeneration. Copyright © 2015 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Zebrafish: An Important Tool for Liver Disease Research

PubMed Central

Goessling, Wolfram; Sadler, Kirsten C.

2016-01-01

As the incidence of hepatobiliary diseases increases, we must improve our understanding of the molecular, cellular, and physiological factors that contribute to the pathogenesis of liver disease. Animal models help us identify disease mechanisms that might be targeted therapeutically. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) have traditionally been used to study embryonic development but are also important to the study of liver disease. Zebrafish embryos develop rapidly; all of their digestive organs are mature in larvae by 5 days of age. At this stage, they can develop hepatobiliary diseases caused by developmental defects or toxin- or ethanol-induced injury and manifest premalignant changes within weeks. Zebrafish are similar to humans in hepatic cellular composition, function, signaling, and response to injury as well as the cellular processes that mediate liver diseases. Genes are highly conserved between humans and zebrafish, making them a useful system to study the basic mechanisms of liver disease. We can perform genetic screens to identify novel genes involved in specific disease processes and chemical screens to identify pathways and compounds that act on specific processes. We review how studies of zebrafish have advanced our understanding of inherited and acquired liver diseases as well as liver cancer and regeneration. PMID:26319012

Heart-specific expression of laminopathic mutations in transgenic zebrafish.

PubMed

Verma, Ajay D; Parnaik, Veena K

2017-07-01

Lamins are key determinants of nuclear organization and function in the metazoan nucleus. Mutations in human lamin A cause a spectrum of genetic diseases that affect cardiac muscle and skeletal muscle as well as other tissues. A few laminopathies have been modeled using the mouse. As zebrafish is a well established model for the study of cardiac development and disease, we have investigated the effects of heart-specific lamin A mutations in transgenic zebrafish. We have developed transgenic lines of zebrafish expressing conserved lamin A mutations that cause cardiac dysfunction in humans. Expression of zlamin A mutations Q291P and M368K in the heart was driven by the zebrafish cardiac troponin T2 promoter. Homozygous mutant embryos displayed nuclear abnormalities in cardiomyocyte nuclei. Expression analysis showed the upregulation of genes involved in heart regeneration in transgenic mutant embryos and a cell proliferation marker was increased in adult heart tissue. At the physiological level, there was deviation of up to 20% from normal heart rate in transgenic embryos expressing mutant lamins. Adult homozygous zebrafish were fertile and did not show signs of early mortality. Our results suggest that transgenic zebrafish models of heart-specific laminopathies show cardiac regeneration and moderate deviations in heart rate during embryonic development. © 2017 International Federation for Cell Biology.

Whole-body and multispectral photoacoustic imaging of adult zebrafish

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Na; Xi, Lei

2016-10-01

Zebrafish is a top vertebrate model to study developmental biology and genetics, and it is becoming increasingly popular for studying human diseases due to its high genome similarity to that of humans and the optical transparency in embryonic stages. However, it becomes difficult for pure optical imaging techniques to volumetric visualize the internal organs and structures of wild-type zebrafish in juvenile and adult stages with excellent resolution and penetration depth. Even with the establishment of mutant lines which remain transparent over the life cycle, it is still a challenge for pure optical imaging modalities to image the whole body of adult zebrafish with micro-scale resolution. However, the method called photoacoustic imaging that combines all the advantages of the optical imaging and ultrasonic imaging provides a new way to image the whole body of the zebrafish. In this work, we developed a non-invasive photoacoustic imaging system with optimized near-infrared illumination and cylindrical scanning to image the zebrafish. The lateral and axial resolution yield to 80 μm and 600 μm, respectively. Multispectral strategy with wavelengths from 690 nm to 930 nm was employed to image various organs inside the zebrafish. From the reconstructed images, most major organs and structures inside the body can be precisely imaged. Quantitative and statistical analysis of absorption for organs under illumination with different wavelengths were carried out.

Sleep–wake regulation and hypocretin–melatonin interaction in zebrafish

PubMed Central

Appelbaum, Lior; Wang, Gordon X.; Maro, Geraldine S.; Mori, Rotem; Tovin, Adi; Marin, Wilfredo; Yokogawa, Tohei; Kawakami, Koichi; Smith, Stephen J.; Gothilf, Yoav; Mignot, Emmanuel; Mourrain, Philippe

2009-01-01

In mammals, hypocretin/orexin (HCRT) neuropeptides are important sleep–wake regulators and HCRT deficiency causes narcolepsy. In addition to fragmented wakefulness, narcoleptic mammals also display sleep fragmentation, a less understood phenotype recapitulated in the zebrafish HCRT receptor mutant (hcrtr−/−). We therefore used zebrafish to study the potential mediators of HCRT-mediated sleep consolidation. Similar to mammals, zebrafish HCRT neurons express vesicular glutamate transporters indicating conservation of the excitatory phenotype. Visualization of the entire HCRT circuit in zebrafish stably expressing hcrt:EGFP revealed parallels with established mammalian HCRT neuroanatomy, including projections to the pineal gland, where hcrtr mRNA is expressed. As pineal-produced melatonin is a major sleep-inducing hormone in zebrafish, we further studied how the HCRT and melatonin systems interact functionally. mRNA level of arylalkylamine-N-acetyltransferase (AANAT2), a key enzyme of melatonin synthesis, is reduced in hcrtr−/− pineal gland during the night. Moreover, HCRT perfusion of cultured zebrafish pineal glands induces melatonin release. Together these data indicate that HCRT can modulate melatonin production at night. Furthermore, hcrtr−/− fish are hypersensitive to melatonin, but not other hypnotic compounds. Subthreshold doses of melatonin increased the amount of sleep and consolidated sleep in hcrtr−/− fish, but not in the wild-type siblings. These results demonstrate the existence of a functional HCRT neurons-pineal gland circuit able to modulate melatonin production and sleep consolidation. PMID:19966231

Ionic channels underlying the ventricular action potential in zebrafish embryo.

PubMed

Alday, Aintzane; Alonso, Hiart; Gallego, Monica; Urrutia, Janire; Letamendia, Ainhoa; Callol, Carles; Casis, Oscar

2014-06-01

Over the last years zebrafish has become a popular model in the study of cardiac physiology, pathology and pharmacology. Recently, the application of the 3Rs regulation and the characteristics of the embryo have reduced the use of adult zebrafish use in many studies. However, the zebrafish embryo cardiac physiology is poorly characterized since most works have used indirect techniques and direct recordings of cardiac action potential and ionic currents are scarce. In order to optimize the zebrafish embryo model, we used electrophysiological, pharmacological and immunofluorescence tools to identify the characteristics and the ionic channels involved in the ventricular action potentials of zebrafish embryos. The application of Na(+) or T-type Ca(+2) channel blockers eliminated the cardiac electrical activity, indicating that the action potential upstroke depends on Na(+) and T-type Ca(+2) currents. The plateau phase depends on L-type Ca(+2) channels since it is abolished by specific blockade. The direct channel blockade indicates that the action potential repolarization and diastolic potential depends on ERG K(+) channels. The presence in the embryonic heart of the Nav1.5, Cav1.2, Cav3.2 and ERG channels was also confirmed by immunofluorescence, while the absence of effect of specific blockers and immunostaining indicate that two K(+) repolarizing currents present in human heart, Ito and IKs, are absent in the embryonic zebrafish heart. Our results describe the ionic channels present and its role in the zebrafish embryo heart and support the use of zebrafish embryos to study human diseases and their use for drug testing. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dihydroartemisinin promotes angiogenesis during the early embryonic development of zebrafish

PubMed Central

Ba, Qian; Duan, Juan; Tian, Jia-qiang; Wang, Zi-liang; Chen, Tao; Li, Xiao-guang; Chen, Pei-zhan; Wu, Song-jie; Xiang, Li; Li, Jing-quan; Chu, Rui-ai; Wang, Hui

2013-01-01

Aim: To investigate the embryotoxicity of dihydroartemisinin (DHA), the main active metabolite of artemisinin, in zebrafish, and explore the corresponding mechanisms. Methods: The embryos of wild type and TG (flk1:GFP) transgenic zebrafish were exposed to DHA. Developmental phenotypes of the embryos were observed. Development of blood vessels was directly observed in living embryos of TG (flk1:GFP) transgenic zebrafish under fluorescence microscope. The expression of angiogenesis marker genes vegfa, flk1, and flt1 in the embryos was detected using real-time PCR and RNA in situ hybridization assays. Results: Exposure to DHA (1–10 mg/L) dose-dependently caused abnormal zebrafish embryonic phenotypes in the early developmental stage. Furthermore, exposure to DHA (10 mg/L) resulted in more pronounced embryonic angiogenesis in TG (flk1:GFP) zebrafish line. Exposure to DHA (10 mg/L) significantly increased the mRNA expression of vegfa, flk1, and flt1 in the embryos. Knockdown of the flk1 protein partially blocked the effects of DHA on embryogenesis. Conclusion: DHA causes abnormal embryonic phenotypes and promotes angiogenesis in zebrafish early embryonic development, demonstrating the potential embryotoxicity of DHA. PMID:23708556

PCR-identification of a Nicotiana plumbaginifolia cDNA homologous to the high-affinity nitrate transporters of the crnA family.

PubMed

Quesada, A; Krapp, A; Trueman, L J; Daniel-Vedele, F; Fernández, E; Forde, B G; Caboche, M

1997-05-01

A family of high-affinity nitrate transporters has been identified in Aspergillus nidulans and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, and recently homologues of this family have been cloned from a higher plant (barley). Based on six of the peptide sequences most strongly conserved between the barley and C. reinhardtii polypeptides, a set of degenerate primers was designed to permit amplification of the corresponding genes from other plant species. The utility of these primers was demonstrated by RT-PCR with cDNA made from poly(A)+ RNA from barley, C. reinhardtii and Nicotiana plumbaginifolia. A PCR fragment amplified from N. plumbaginifolia was used as probe to isolate a full-length cDNA clone which encodes a protein, NRT2;1Np, that is closely related to the previously isolated crnA homologue from barley. Genomic Southern blots indicated that there are only 1 or 2 members of the Nrt2 gene family in N. plumbaginifolia. Northern blotting showed that the Nrt2 transcripts are most strongly expressed in roots. The effects of external treatments with different N sources showed that the regulation of the Nrt2 gene(s) is very similar to that reported for nitrate reductase and nitrite reductase genes: their expression was strongly induced by nitrate but was repressed when reduced forms of N were supplied to the roots.

Brain cDNA clone for human cholinesterase

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McTiernan, C.; Adkins, S.; Chatonnet, A.

1987-10-01

A cDNA library from human basal ganglia was screened with oligonucleotide probes corresponding to portions of the amino acid sequence of human serum cholinesterase. Five overlapping clones, representing 2.4 kilobases, were isolated. The sequenced cDNA contained 207 base pairs of coding sequence 5' to the amino terminus of the mature protein in which there were four ATG translation start sites in the same reading frame as the protein. Only the ATG coding for Met-(-28) lay within a favorable consensus sequence for functional initiators. There were 1722 base pairs of coding sequence corresponding to the protein found circulating in human serum.more » The amino acid sequence deduced from the cDNA exactly matched the 574 amino acid sequence of human serum cholinesterase, as previously determined by Edman degradation. Therefore, our clones represented cholinesterase rather than acetylcholinesterase. It was concluded that the amino acid sequences of cholinesterase from two different tissues, human brain and human serum, were identical. Hybridization of genomic DNA blots suggested that a single gene, or very few genes coded for cholinesterase.« less

Biologically inspired robots elicit a robust fear response in zebrafish

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ladu, Fabrizio; Bartolini, Tiziana; Panitz, Sarah G.; Butail, Sachit; Macrı, Simone; Porfiri, Maurizio

2015-03-01

We investigate the behavioral response of zebrafish to three fear-evoking stimuli. In a binary choice test, zebrafish are exposed to a live allopatric predator, a biologically-inspired robot, and a computer-animated image of the live predator. A target tracking algorithm is developed to score zebrafish behavior. Unlike computer-animated images, the robotic and live predator elicit a robust avoidance response. Importantly, the robotic stimulus elicits more consistent inter-individual responses than the live predator. Results from this effort are expected to aid in hypothesis-driven studies on zebrafish fear response, by offering a valuable approach to maximize data-throughput and minimize animal subjects.

dsRNA binding characterization of full length recombinant wild type and mutants Zaire ebolavirus VP35.

PubMed

Zinzula, Luca; Esposito, Francesca; Pala, Daniela; Tramontano, Enzo

2012-03-01

The Ebola viruses (EBOVs) VP35 protein is a multifunctional major virulence factor involved in EBOVs replication and evasion of the host immune system. EBOV VP35 is an essential component of the viral RNA polymerase, it is a key participant of the nucleocapsid assembly and it inhibits the innate immune response by antagonizing RIG-I like receptors through its dsRNA binding function and, hence, by suppressing the host type I interferon (IFN) production. Insights into the VP35 dsRNA recognition have been recently revealed by structural and functional analysis performed on its C-terminus protein. We report the biochemical characterization of the Zaire ebolavirus (ZEBOV) full-length recombinant VP35 (rVP35)-dsRNA binding function. We established a novel in vitro magnetic dsRNA binding pull down assay, determined the rVP35 optimal dsRNA binding parameters, measured the rVP35 equilibrium dissociation constant for heterologous in vitro transcribed dsRNA of different length and short synthetic dsRNA of 8bp, and validated the assay for compound screening by assessing the inhibitory ability of auryntricarboxylic acid (IC(50) value of 50μg/mL). Furthermore, we compared the dsRNA binding properties of full length wt rVP35 with those of R305A, K309A and R312A rVP35 mutants, which were previously reported to be defective in dsRNA binding-mediated IFN inhibition, showing that the latter have measurably increased K(d) values for dsRNA binding and modified migration patterns in mobility shift assays with respect to wt rVP35. Overall, these results provide the first characterization of the full-length wt and mutants VP35-dsRNA binding functions. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The neurogenetic frontier--lessons from misbehaving zebrafish.

PubMed

Burgess, Harold A; Granato, Michael

2008-11-01

One of the central questions in neuroscience is how refined patterns of connectivity in the brain generate and monitor behavior. Genetic mutations can influence neural circuits by disrupting differentiation or maintenance of component neuronal cells or by altering functional patterns of nervous system connectivity. Mutagenesis screens therefore have the potential to reveal not only the molecular underpinnings of brain development and function, but to illuminate the cellular basis of behavior. Practical considerations make the zebrafish an organism of choice for undertaking forward genetic analysis of behavior. The powerful array of experimental tools at the disposal of the zebrafish researcher makes it possible to link molecular function to neuronal properties that underlie behavior. This review focuses on specific challenges to isolating and analyzing behavioral mutants in zebrafish.

Automated image-based phenotypic analysis in zebrafish embryos

PubMed Central

Vogt, Andreas; Cholewinski, Andrzej; Shen, Xiaoqiang; Nelson, Scott; Lazo, John S.; Tsang, Michael; Hukriede, Neil A.

2009-01-01

Presently, the zebrafish is the only vertebrate model compatible with contemporary paradigms of drug discovery. Zebrafish embryos are amenable to automation necessary for high-throughput chemical screens, and optical transparency makes them potentially suited for image-based screening. However, the lack of tools for automated analysis of complex images presents an obstacle to utilizing the zebrafish as a high-throughput screening model. We have developed an automated system for imaging and analyzing zebrafish embryos in multi-well plates regardless of embryo orientation and without user intervention. Images of fluorescent embryos were acquired on a high-content reader and analyzed using an artificial intelligence-based image analysis method termed Cognition Network Technology (CNT). CNT reliably detected transgenic fluorescent embryos (Tg(fli1:EGFP)y1) arrayed in 96-well plates and quantified intersegmental blood vessel development in embryos treated with small molecule inhibitors of anigiogenesis. The results demonstrate it is feasible to adapt image-based high-content screening methodology to measure complex whole organism phenotypes. PMID:19235725

Functional inhibition of UQCRB suppresses angiogenesis in zebrafish

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cho, Yoon Sun; Jung, Hye Jin; Seok, Seung Hyeok

2013-04-19

Highlights: ► This is the first functional characterization of UQCRB in vivo model. ► Angiogenesis is inhibited with UQCRB loss of function in zebrafish. ► UQCRB is introduced as a prognostic marker for mitochondria- and angiogenesis-related diseases. -- Abstract: As a subunit of mitochondrial complex III, UQCRB plays an important role in complex III stability, electron transport, and cellular oxygen sensing. Herein, we report UQCRB function regarding angiogenesis in vivo with the zebrafish (Danio rerio). UQCRB knockdown inhibited angiogenesis in zebrafish leading to the suppression of VEGF expression. Moreover, the UQCRB-targeting small molecule terpestacin also inhibited angiogenesis and VEGF levelsmore » in zebrafish, supporting the role of UQCRB in angiogenesis. Collectively, UQCRB loss of function by either genetic and pharmacological means inhibited angiogenesis, indicating that UQCRB plays a key role in this process and can be a prognostic marker of angiogenesis- and mitochondria-related diseases.« less

Evolution of complexity in the zebrafish synapse proteome

PubMed Central

Bayés, Àlex; Collins, Mark O.; Reig-Viader, Rita; Gou, Gemma; Goulding, David; Izquierdo, Abril; Choudhary, Jyoti S.; Emes, Richard D.; Grant, Seth G. N.

2017-01-01

The proteome of human brain synapses is highly complex and is mutated in over 130 diseases. This complexity arose from two whole-genome duplications early in the vertebrate lineage. Zebrafish are used in modelling human diseases; however, its synapse proteome is uncharacterized, and whether the teleost-specific genome duplication (TSGD) influenced complexity is unknown. We report the characterization of the proteomes and ultrastructure of central synapses in zebrafish and analyse the importance of the TSGD. While the TSGD increases overall synapse proteome complexity, the postsynaptic density (PSD) proteome of zebrafish has lower complexity than mammals. A highly conserved set of ∼1,000 proteins is shared across vertebrates. PSD ultrastructural features are also conserved. Lineage-specific proteome differences indicate that vertebrate species evolved distinct synapse types and functions. The data sets are a resource for a wide range of studies and have important implications for the use of zebrafish in modelling human synaptic diseases. PMID:28252024

Cloning and functional expression of a cDNA encoding stearoyl-ACP Δ9-desaturase from the endosperm of coconut (Cocos nucifera L.).

PubMed

Gao, Lingchao; Sun, Ruhao; Liang, Yuanxue; Zhang, Mengdan; Zheng, Yusheng; Li, Dongdong

2014-10-01

Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.) is an economically tropical fruit tree with special fatty acid compositions. The stearoyl-acyl carrier protein (ACP) desaturase (SAD) plays a key role in the properties of the majority of cellular glycerolipids. In this paper, a full-length cDNA of a stearoyl-acyl carrier protein desaturase, designated CocoFAD, was isolated from cDNA library prepared from the endosperm of coconut (C. nucifera L.). An 1176 bp cDNA from overlapped PCR products containing ORF encoding a 391-amino acid (aa) protein was obtained. The coded protein was virtually identical and shared the homology to other Δ9-desaturase plant sequences (greater than 80% as similarity to that of Elaeis guineensis Jacq). The real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR result indicated that the yield of CocoFAD was the highest in the endosperm of 8-month-old coconut and leaf, and the yield was reduced to 50% of the highest level in the endosperm of 15-month-old coconut. The coding region showed heterologous expression in strain INVSc1 of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae). GC-MS analysis showed that the levels of palmitoleic acid (16:1) and oleic acid (18:1) were improved significantly; meanwhile stearic acid (18:0) was reduced. These results indicated that the plastidial Δ9 desaturase from the endosperm of coconut was involved in the biosynthesis of hexadecenoic acid and octadecenoic acid, which was similar with other plants. These results may be valuable for understanding the mechanism of fatty acid metabolism and the genetic improvement of CocoFAD gene in palm plants in the future. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Adult zebrafish intestine resection: a novel model of short bowel syndrome, adaptation, and intestinal stem cell regeneration.

PubMed

Schall, K A; Holoyda, K A; Grant, C N; Levin, D E; Torres, E R; Maxwell, A; Pollack, H A; Moats, R A; Frey, M R; Darehzereshki, A; Al Alam, D; Lien, C; Grikscheit, T C

2015-08-01

Loss of significant intestinal length from congenital anomaly or disease may lead to short bowel syndrome (SBS); intestinal failure may be partially offset by a gain in epithelial surface area, termed adaptation. Current in vivo models of SBS are costly and technically challenging. Operative times and survival rates have slowed extension to transgenic models. We created a new reproducible in vivo model of SBS in zebrafish, a tractable vertebrate model, to facilitate investigation of the mechanisms of intestinal adaptation. Proximal intestinal diversion at segment 1 (S1, equivalent to jejunum) was performed in adult male zebrafish. SBS fish emptied distal intestinal contents via stoma as in the human disease. After 2 wk, S1 was dilated compared with controls and villus ridges had increased complexity, contributing to greater villus epithelial perimeter. The number of intervillus pockets, the intestinal stem cell zone of the zebrafish increased and contained a higher number of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-labeled cells after 2 wk of SBS. Egf receptor and a subset of its ligands, also drivers of adaptation, were upregulated in SBS fish. Igf has been reported as a driver of intestinal adaptation in other animal models, and SBS fish exposed to a pharmacological inhibitor of the Igf receptor failed to demonstrate signs of intestinal adaptation, such as increased inner epithelial perimeter and BrdU incorporation. We describe a technically feasible model of human SBS in the zebrafish, a faster and less expensive tool to investigate intestinal stem cell plasticity as well as the mechanisms that drive intestinal adaptation. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Adult zebrafish intestine resection: a novel model of short bowel syndrome, adaptation, and intestinal stem cell regeneration

PubMed Central

Schall, K. A.; Holoyda, K. A.; Grant, C. N.; Levin, D. E.; Torres, E. R.; Maxwell, A.; Pollack, H. A.; Moats, R. A.; Frey, M. R.; Darehzereshki, A.; Al Alam, D.; Lien, C.

2015-01-01

Loss of significant intestinal length from congenital anomaly or disease may lead to short bowel syndrome (SBS); intestinal failure may be partially offset by a gain in epithelial surface area, termed adaptation. Current in vivo models of SBS are costly and technically challenging. Operative times and survival rates have slowed extension to transgenic models. We created a new reproducible in vivo model of SBS in zebrafish, a tractable vertebrate model, to facilitate investigation of the mechanisms of intestinal adaptation. Proximal intestinal diversion at segment 1 (S1, equivalent to jejunum) was performed in adult male zebrafish. SBS fish emptied distal intestinal contents via stoma as in the human disease. After 2 wk, S1 was dilated compared with controls and villus ridges had increased complexity, contributing to greater villus epithelial perimeter. The number of intervillus pockets, the intestinal stem cell zone of the zebrafish increased and contained a higher number of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU)-labeled cells after 2 wk of SBS. Egf receptor and a subset of its ligands, also drivers of adaptation, were upregulated in SBS fish. Igf has been reported as a driver of intestinal adaptation in other animal models, and SBS fish exposed to a pharmacological inhibitor of the Igf receptor failed to demonstrate signs of intestinal adaptation, such as increased inner epithelial perimeter and BrdU incorporation. We describe a technically feasible model of human SBS in the zebrafish, a faster and less expensive tool to investigate intestinal stem cell plasticity as well as the mechanisms that drive intestinal adaptation. PMID:26089336

Zebrafish (Danio rerio): A Potential Model for Toxinological Studies.

PubMed

Vargas, Rafael Antonio; Sarmiento, Karen; Vásquez, Isabel Cristina

2015-10-01

Zebrafish are an emerging basic biomedical research model that has multiple advantages compared with other research models. Given that biotoxins, such as toxins, poisons, and venoms, represent health hazards to animals and humans, a low-cost biological model that is highly sensitive to biotoxins is useful to understand the damage caused by such agents and to develop biological tests to prevent and reduce the risk of poisoning in potential cases of bioterrorism or food contamination. In this article, a narrative review of the general aspects of zebrafish as a model in basic biomedical research and various studies in the field of toxinology that have used zebrafish as a biological model are presented. This information will provide useful material to beginner students and researchers who are interested in developing toxinological studies with the zebrafish model.

The zebrafish as a model for complex tissue regeneration

PubMed Central

Gemberling, Matthew; Bailey, Travis J.; Hyde, David R.; Poss, Kenneth D.

2013-01-01

For centuries, philosophers and scientists have been fascinated by the principles and implications of regeneration in lower vertebrate species. Two features have made zebrafish an informative model system for determining mechanisms of regenerative events. First, they are highly regenerative, able to regrow amputated fins, as well as a lesioned brain, retina, spinal cord, heart, and other tissues. Second, they are amenable to both forward and reverse genetic approaches, with a research toolset regularly updated by an expanding community of zebrafish researchers. Zebrafish studies have helped identify new mechanistic underpinnings of regeneration in multiple tissues, and in some cases have served as a guide for contemplating regenerative strategies in mammals. Here, we review the recent history of zebrafish as a genetic model system for understanding how and why tissue regeneration occurs. PMID:23927865

Husbandry stress exacerbates mycobacterial infections in adult zebrafish, Danio rerio (Hamilton)

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ramsay, J.M.; Watral, Virginia G.; Schreck, C.B.; Kent, M.L.

2009-01-01

Mycobacteria are significant pathogens of laboratory zebrafish, Danio rerio (Hamilton). Stress is often implicated in clinical disease and morbidity associated with mycobacterial infections but has yet to be examined with zebrafish. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of husbandry stressors on zebrafish infected with mycobacteria. Adult zebrafish were exposed to Mycobacterium marinum or Mycobacterium chelonae, two species that have been associated with disease in zebrafish. Infected fish and controls were then subjected to chronic crowding and handling stressors and examined over an 8-week period. Whole-body cortisol was significantly elevated in stressed fish compared to non-stressed fish. Fish infected with M. marinum ATCC 927 and subjected to husbandry stressors had 14% cumulative mortality while no mortality occurred among infected fish not subjected to husbandry stressors. Stressed fish, infected with M. chelonae H1E2 from zebrafish, were 15-fold more likely to be infected than non-stressed fish at week 8 post-injection. Sub-acute, diffuse infections were more common among stressed fish infected with M. marinum or M. chelonae than non-stressed fish. This is the first study to demonstrate an effect of stress and elevated cortisol on the morbidity, prevalence, clinical disease and histological presentation associated with mycobacterial infections in zebrafish. Minimizing husbandry stress may be effective at reducing the severity of outbreaks of clinical mycobacteriosis in zebrafish facilities. ?? 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The full-length form of the Drosophila amyloid precursor protein is involved in memory formation.

PubMed

Bourdet, Isabelle; Preat, Thomas; Goguel, Valérie

2015-01-21

The APP plays a central role in AD, a pathology that first manifests as a memory decline. Understanding the role of APP in normal cognition is fundamental in understanding the progression of AD, and mammalian studies have pointed to a role of secreted APPα in memory. In Drosophila, we recently showed that APPL, the fly APP ortholog, is required for associative memory. In the present study, we aimed to characterize which form of APPL is involved in this process. We show that expression of a secreted-APPL form in the mushroom bodies, the center for olfactory memory, is able to rescue the memory deficit caused by APPL partial loss of function. We next assessed the impact on memory of the Drosophila α-secretase kuzbanian (KUZ), the enzyme initiating the nonamyloidogenic pathway that produces secreted APPLα. Strikingly, KUZ overexpression not only failed to rescue the memory deficit caused by APPL loss of function, it exacerbated this deficit. We further show that in addition to an increase in secreted-APPL forms, KUZ overexpression caused a decrease of membrane-bound full-length species that could explain the memory deficit. Indeed, we observed that transient expression of a constitutive membrane-bound mutant APPL form is sufficient to rescue the memory deficit caused by APPL reduction, revealing for the first time a role of full-length APPL in memory formation. Our data demonstrate that, in addition to secreted APPL, the noncleaved form is involved in memory, raising the possibility that secreted and full-length APPL act together in memory processes. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/351043-09$15.00/0.

[Molecular cloning and characterization of cDNA of the rpc10+ gene encoding the smallest subunit of nuclear RNA polymerases of Schizosaccharomyces pombe].

PubMed

Shpakovskiĭ, G V; Lebedenko, E N

1997-05-01

The full-length cDNA of the rpc10+ gene encoding mini-subunit Rpc10, which is common for all three nuclear RNA polymerases of the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, was cloned and sequenced. The Rpc10 subunit of Sz. pombe and its homologs from S. cerevisiae and H. sapiens are positively charged proteins with a highly conserved C-terminal region and an invariant zinc-binding domain (Zn-finger) of a typical amino acid composition: YxCx2Cx12RCx2CGxR. Functional tests of heterospecific complementation, using tetrad analysis or plasmid shuffling, showed that the Rpc10 subunit of Sz. pombe can successfully replace the homologous ABC10 alpha subunit in nuclear RNA polymerases I-III of S. cerevisiae.