HIRA gene of the half-smooth tongue-sole Cynoglossus semilaevis : cloning and its mRNA expression

Abstract:

To investigate the function of HIRA gene in the embryonic development and tissue differential expression of half-smooth tongue-sole Cynoglossus semilaevis , partial HIRA cDNA sequence of 764 bp was isolated from C. semilaevis by homologous clone method. The fragment encodes peptides of 254 amino acids, and it shares high homology with Takifugu rubripes’s HIRA gene as shown by the NJ-phylogenetic tree. It is estimated that the HIRA gene may play a vital role in embryonic development of C. semilaevis, supported by the relatively higher mRNA expressions of HIRA at early developmental stages as shown by Real-time PCR analysis. In addition, HIRA mRNA was expressed extremely high in gonads compared to the other tissues, which indicates that HIRA gene may also help gonads to maintain their normal function.