Molecular cloning and expression analysis of the aqp1aa gene in half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis)

Hua Guo; Min Wei; Yang Liu; Ying Zhu; Wenteng Xu; Liang Meng; Na Wang; Changwei Shao; Sheng Lu; Fengtao Gao; Zhongkai Cui; Zhanfei Wei; Fazhen Zhao; Songlin Chen

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0175033

Molecular cloning and expression analysis of the aqp1aa gene in half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis)

PLoS One. 2017 Apr 5;12(4):e0175033. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175033. eCollection 2017.

Authors

Hua Guo^{1

2}, Min Wei^{1

3}, Yang Liu^{1

3}, Ying Zhu¹, Wenteng Xu¹, Liang Meng¹, Na Wang¹, Changwei Shao¹, Sheng Lu¹, Fengtao Gao¹, Zhongkai Cui^{1

2}, Zhanfei Wei^{1

2}, Fazhen Zhao^{1

3

4}, Songlin Chen^{1

2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (CAFS), Key Laboratory for Sustainable Development of Marine Fisheries, Ministry of Agriculture, Qingdao, PR China.
² College of Fisheries and Life, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, PR China.
³ Wuxi Fisheries College, Nanjing Agricultural University, Wuxi, PR China.
⁴ Laboratory for Marine Fisheries Science and Food Production Processes, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao, China.

Abstract

Aquaporin 1 (AQP1) is a member of the transmembrane water channel family of proteins with special structural features, and two AQP1 paralogous genes (aqp1aa and aqp1ab) are reported in teleosts. In the present study, the aqp1aa gene of half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) was cloned and characterized. The full-length cDNA of aqp1aa is 1411 bp with a 786 bp open reading frame encoding a 261-amino acid putative protein with a characteristic structure consisting of 6 membrane-spanning α-helical domains and two highly conserved asparagine-proline-alanine motifs. Real-time quantitative PCR revealed that aqp1aa mRNA is expressed predominantly in the testis of males and pseudo-males, while its expression is low in the ovary and lowest in doublesex and mab-3-related transcription factor 1(DMRT1) knock out fish and triploid males. In situ hybridization indicated that aqp1aa mRNA is expressed mainly in the germ cells of males and pseudo-males, especially in spermatozoa and spermatids. These results suggest that the aqp1aa may play a role in spermatogenesis of C. semilaevis.

MeSH terms

Animals
Aquaporin 1 / genetics*
Aquaporin 1 / metabolism
Cloning, Molecular
Female
Flatfishes / genetics*
Flatfishes / metabolism
Gene Expression Profiling
In Situ Hybridization
Male
Ovary / metabolism
Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
Spermatogenesis / genetics
Testis / metabolism

Substances

Aquaporin 1

Grants and funding

This work was supported by grants from National Nature Science Foundation of China (31130057, 31530078, and 31472269), Taishan Scholar Climbing Project Fund of Shandong of China, and Special Scientific Research Funds for Central Non-profit Institutes, Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences (2015C03YQ01). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.