Characterization of duplicated zebrafish cyp19 genes.

The zebrafish has recently been developed as a good genetic model system. We report here the use of zebrafish to study the regulation of estrogen biosynthesis. The CYP19 gene encodes cytochrome P450 aromatase, which catalyzes the synthesis of estrogens. Two cyp19 genes, termed cyp19a and cyp19b, have been isolated from zebrafish. Sequence comparison shows that Cyp19a and Cyp19b belong to two separate Cyp19 subfamilies. The cyp19a gene is expressed in the ovary, whereas cyp19b is expressed in the brain. The cyp19a and cyp19b genes are located on zebrafish chromosomes LG 18 and 25, respectively. Our data indicate that these gene loci arose through an ancient chromosomal duplication event. The expression of duplicated genes in distinct tissues may have evolutionary significance.