SummaryChinese sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis Gray) has a fast growth rate starting in early larval stage. Likely, the fast growth is attributed to the growth hormone (GH); an essential polypeptide required for growth and development of vertebrates. In this study, GH cDNA was cloned from a pituitary library. The AsGH cDNA consists approximately 954 bp in size including a 16 bp 5¢-untranslated region and 296 bp 3¢-untranslated region. The open reading frame (642 bp) encodes a 214 amino acids (aa), which represents the precursor composed of a 25 aa signal peptide followed by a 189 aa mature polypeptide. The polyclonal antibody was prepared from the in vitro expressed mature protein. Western blot analysis showed a constant GH expression of a monomeric form in the 13 embryo stages and in several larval stages. Interestingly, two dimeric bands of GH were detected since day 3 in the hatched larvae. Our findings suggest that the GH may play important physiological functions in embryonic and larval development of Chinese sturgeon.
In this study, the cDNA of dmrt1 gene from the Chinese sturgeon Acipenser sinensis was isolated and its expression pattern was characterized in different tissues of immature A. sinensis. By real-time quantitative PCR (qrtPCR) analysis, the A. sinensis dmrt1 mRNA was detected mainly in gonad and with a higher level in the testis than the ovary, especially in 3 and 4 year-old samples. This indicated that the dmrt1 expression exhibited gradual testis specificity with development. The subcellular localization analysis indicated that the Dmrt1 protein exists only in germ cells and not in somatic cells. These results suggest that A. sinensis dmrt1 might be a highly specific sex differentiation gene for testis development and spermatogenesis.
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