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Molecular cloning and tissue distribution of three estrogen receptors from the cyprinid fish Varicorhinus barbatulus

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Abstract

We present molecular cloning and tissue expression analysis of three estrogen receptor (ER) subtypes, vbERα, vbERβ1 and vbERβ2, from liver of the cyprinid fish Varicorhinus barbatulus through reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). The sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis reconfirmed the evolutionary relationship of V. barbatulus within the family Cypriniformes. Directional constraints for subtype-specific substitution of critical amino acids were observed in the E2 binding region. For amino acid substitution, vbERβ exhibited a M517L change in the ligand-dependent transactivation region. The tissue distributions were investigated using RT-PCR with subtype-distinguishable primers. Both vbERα and vbERβ1 were most highly expressed in liver, while vbERβ2 was higher in intestine. Here we demonstrate that the identification and cloning of ER subtypes using PCR is feasible in wildlife in that the temporal and spatial observations are consistent with those from phylogeny analysis and crystal structural investigation by others.

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Abbreviations

AF:

Activation function

CK-II:

Casein-kinase II

DBD:

DNA binding-domain

ER:

Estrogen receptor

ERR:

Estrogen-related receptor

LBD:

Ligand binding-domain

MAPK:

Mitogen-activated protein kinase

NCBI:

National Center for Biotechnology Information

PKC:

Protein kinase C

RACE:

Rapid amplification of cDNA end

RT-PCR:

Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction

vbER :

Estrogen receptor of Varicorhinus barbatulus

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by research grant NSC 91-2211-E-009-034 from the National Science Council of Taiwan, ROC, to C.-Y. Chen.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, 300, Taiwan, ROC

    Keng-Yen Fu & Chung-Yuan Chen

  2. Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung, 202, Taiwan, ROC

    Chi-Tsai Lin

  3. Department of Bioinformatics, Chung Hua University, 707, Sec. 2, WuFu Rd., Hsinchu, 30012, Taiwan, ROC

    Whei-Meih Chang

Authors
  1. Keng-Yen Fu
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  2. Chung-Yuan Chen
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  3. Chi-Tsai Lin
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  4. Whei-Meih Chang
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Correspondence to Whei-Meih Chang.

Additional information

Communicated by I.D. Hume.

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Fu, KY., Chen, CY., Lin, CT. et al. Molecular cloning and tissue distribution of three estrogen receptors from the cyprinid fish Varicorhinus barbatulus . J Comp Physiol B 178, 189–197 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-007-0210-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-007-0210-3

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