No abstract

The formation of new myofibers in vertebrates occurs by myoblast fusion and requires fusogenic activity of the musclespecific membrane protein myomaker. Here, using in silico (BLAST) genome analyses, we show that the myomaker gene from trout includes 14 minisatellites, indicating that it has an unusual structure compared with those of other animal species. We found that the trout myomaker gene encodes a 434 -amino acid (aa) protein, in accordance with its apparent molecular mass (ϳ40 kDa) observed by immunoblotting. The first half of the trout myomaker protein (1-220 aa) is similar to the 221-aa mouse myomaker protein, whereas the second half (222-234 aa) does not correspond to any known motifs and arises from two protein extensions. The first extension (ϳ70 aa) apparently appeared with the radiation of the bony fish clade Euteleostei, whereas the second extension (up to 236 aa) is restricted to the superorder Protacanthopterygii (containing salmonids and pike) and corresponds to the insertion of minisatellites having a length of 30 nucleotides. According to gene expression analyses, trout myomaker expression is consistently associated with the formation of new myofibers during embryonic development, postlarval growth, and muscle regeneration. Using cell-mixing experiments, we observed that trout myomaker has retained the ability to drive the fusion of mouse fibroblasts with C2C12 myoblasts. Our work reveals that trout myomaker has fusogenic function despite containing two protein extensions.

The comprehension of muscle tissue formation and regeneration is essential to develop therapeutic approaches against muscle diseases or loss in muscle mass and strength during ageing or cancer. One of the critical steps in muscle formation is the fusion of muscle cells to form or regenerate muscle fibres. To identify new genes controlling myoblast fusion, we undertook an siRNA screen in c2c12 myoblasts and found that N-alpha-acetyltransferase 15 (Naa15) knockdown enhanced c2c12 myoblast fusion suggesting that Naa15 negatively regulated myogenic cell fusion. We identified two Naa15 orthologous genes in zebrafish genome: naa15a and naa15b. These two orthologs are both expressed in myogenic domain of the somite. Knockdown of zebrafish naa15a and naa15b genes induced a "U" shaped segmentation of the myotome and alteration of myotome boundaries resulting in the formation of abnormally long myofibres spanning adjacent somites. Taken together these results show that Naa15 regulates myotome formation and myogenesis in fish.

The comprehension of muscle tissue formation and regeneration is essential to develop therapeutic approaches against muscle diseases or loss in muscle mass and strength during ageing or cancer. One of the critical steps in muscle formation is the fusion of muscle cells to form or regenerate muscle fibres. To identify new genes controlling myoblast fusion, we undertook an siRNA screen in c2c12 myoblasts and found that N-alpha-acetyltransferase 15 (Naa15) knockdown enhanced c2c12 myoblast fusion suggesting that Naa15 negatively regulated myogenic cell fusion. We identified two Naa15 orthologous genes in zebrafish genome: naa15a and naa15b. These two orthologs are both expressed in myogenic domain of the somite. Knockdown of zebrafish naa15a and naa15b genes induced a "U" shaped segmentation of the myotome and alteration of myotome boundaries resulting in the formation of abnormally long myofibres spanning adjacent somites. Taken together these results show that Naa15 regulates myotome formation and myogenesis in fish.