PUBLICATION
The gsdf gene locus harbours evolutionary conserved and clustered genes preferentially expressed in fish previtellogenic oocytes
- Authors
- Gautier, A., Le Gac, F., and Lareyre, J.J.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-101108-29
- Date
- 2011
- Source
- Gene 472(1-2): 7-17 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Gautier, Aude, Lareyre, Jean-Jacques, Le Gac, Florence
- Keywords
- Ovary, Testis, Medaka, Teleost, Synteny
- MeSH Terms
-
- Animals
- Female
- Fish Proteins/genetics*
- Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental
- Genetic Loci
- Gonads/metabolism
- Granulosa Cells/metabolism
- Male
- Multigene Family
- Oocytes/cytology
- Oocytes/metabolism*
- Oryzias/embryology
- Oryzias/genetics*
- Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
- Sertoli Cells/metabolism
- TGF-beta Superfamily Proteins/genetics*
- Testis/metabolism
- Vitellogenins/metabolism
- PubMed
- 21047546 Full text @ Gene
Citation
Gautier, A., Le Gac, F., and Lareyre, J.J. (2011) The gsdf gene locus harbours evolutionary conserved and clustered genes preferentially expressed in fish previtellogenic oocytes. Gene. 472(1-2):7-17.
Abstract
The Gonadal Soma-Derived Factor (GSDF) belongs to the Transforming Growth Factor-beta superfamily and is conserved in teleostean fish species. Gsdf is specifically expressed in the gonads and gene expression is restricted to the granulosa and Sertoli cells in trout and medaka. The gsdf gene expression is correlated to early testis differentiation in medaka and was shown to stimulate primordial germ cell and spermatogonia proliferation in trout. In the present study, we show that the gsdf gene localizes to a syntenic chromosomal fragment conserved among vertebrates although no gsdf-related gene is detected on the corresponding genomic region in tetrapods. We demonstrate using quantitative RT-PCR that most of the genes localized in the synteny are specifically expressed in medaka gonads. Gsdf is the only gene of the synteny with a much higher expression in the testis compared to the ovary. In contrast, gene expression pattern analysis of the gsdf surrounding genes (nup54, aff1, klhl8, sdad1 and ptpn13) indicates that these genes are preferentially expressed in the female gonads. The tissue distribution of these genes is highly similar in medaka and zebrafish, two teleostean species that have diverged more than 110 million years ago. The cellular localization of these genes was determined in medaka gonads using the whole mount in situ hybridization technique. We confirm that gsdf gene expression is restricted to Sertoli and granulosa cells in contact with the premeiotic and meiotic cells. The nup54 gene is expressed in spermatocytes and previtellogenic oocytes. Transcripts corresponding to the ovary-specific genes (aff1, klhl8 and sdad1) are detected only in previtellogenic oocytes. No expression was detected in the gonocytes in 10 dpf embryos. In conclusion, we show that the gsdf gene localizes to a syntenic chromosomal fragment harbouring evolutionary conserved genes in vertebrates. These genes are preferentially expressed in previtelloogenic oocytes and thus they display a different cellular localization compared to that of the gsdf gene indicating that the later gene is not co-regulated. Interestingly, our study identifies new clustered genes that are specifically expressed in previtellogenic oocytes (nup54, aff1, klhl8, sdad1).
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping