School of Life Science, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai, China.
J Insect Physiol. 2012 Jul;58(7):960-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2012.04.012. Epub 2012 May 3.
The vasa gene first identified in Drosophila encodes an ATP-dependent RNA helicase belonging to the DEAD-box family and is specifically expressed in germ line cells. In this study a full-length vasa gene homolog from the Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis) was characterized, comprising of 2369 bp nucleotides with an open reading frame of 1866 bp encoding 621 amino acids. The putative protein was shown to contain eight conserved motifs belonging to the DEAD-box protein family and two zinc-finger domains (CCHC) and a Q-motif. Its sequence showed high similarity to vasa homologs of other species. The E. sinensis vasa (Es-vasa) mRNA expression was specific to the gonad and its temporal expression in the ovary and testes were significantly different between various developmental periods. By real-time qPCR analysis, Es-vasa mRNA transcripts were at the highest levels during periods of rapid development in the gonads (stage III-2 in ovaries and spermatocyte stage in testes) and gradually decreased as the gonads matured. In conclusion, we first identified the vasa gene from Chinese mitten crab. The specificity and pattern of Es-vasa expression in gonads indicates that it may be used as molecular marker for germ line in E. sinensis.
瓦萨基因最初在果蝇中被鉴定出来，编码一种 ATP 依赖的 RNA 解旋酶，属于 DEAD 盒家族，特异性表达于生殖细胞。本研究中，我们对中华绒螯蟹（Eriocheir sinensis）全长瓦萨基因同源物进行了鉴定，该基因全长 2369bp，开放阅读框 1866bp，编码 621 个氨基酸。推测该蛋白包含 8 个 DEAD 盒蛋白家族保守基序和 2 个锌指结构域（CCHC）和一个 Q 基序。其序列与其他物种的瓦萨同源物高度相似。中华绒螯蟹 vasa（Es-vasa）mRNA 表达特异性地存在于性腺中，其在卵巢和精巢中的时空表达在不同发育时期存在显著差异。通过实时 qPCR 分析，Es-vasa mRNA 转录本在性腺快速发育时期（卵巢的 III-2 期和精母细胞期）达到最高水平，随着性腺成熟逐渐降低。总之，我们首次从中华绒螯蟹中鉴定出了 vasa 基因。Es-vasa 在性腺中的特异性和表达模式表明，它可能被用作中华绒螯蟹生殖系的分子标记。
