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Molecular characters and
expression analysis of a
new isoform of the myocyte enhancer factor 2 gene
from the silkworm, Bombyx mori
Qing-zhi Ling1, 2, Miao Yu2, Jia-Qi
Zhang2, Lian-He Chu2 and Zhao-Jun Wei2*
1Department
of Applied Biology, Zhejiang Pharmaceutical College, Ningbo,
315100, China.
2Department
of Biotechnology, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei
230009, China.
*Corresponding
author. E-mail:
zjwei@hfut.edu.cn. Tel: 86-551-2901505-8412. Fax:
86-551-2901507.
Accepted
3 September, 2008 |
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Using reverse transcriptase- polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR),
the cDNA encoding a new isoform of the myocyte enhancer
factor-2 (BMEF2) was cloned from the brain of the strain "Liangguang
2" of Bombyx mori. The open reading frame (ORF) of
the new isoform shows 12 nucleotides absence of (GCACTCACAAAG)
and three nucleotides mutation to the former BMEF2 (GenBank
no. AB121093). Thus, we named it BMEF2B (GenBank no.
EF100967). Using the SWISS-MODEL Prediction Server, the 3-D
structure of BMEF2B was modeled. There are two β-turns and
three α-helixes predicted in BMEF2B, with the pattern of
α-β-β-α-α. The BMEF2B mRNA was detected not only in the
central nervous system (CNS), including brain,
suboesophageal ganglion (SG), thoracic ganglion (TG), and
abdominal ganglion (AG), but in the non-neural tissues, such
as the midgut (Mg), fat body (FB), and epidermis (Ep),
muscle (Ms) and ovary (Ov). BMEF2B mRNA content in the brain
was measured using the combined method of quantitative
RT-PCR and Southern blotting, which kept consistently high
from larvae to adults.
Key
words:
Myocyte enhancer factor-2, new isoform, tissue expression,
developmental expression, Bombyx mori. |
