Cg‐Rel, the first Rel/NF‐κB homolog characterized in a mollusk, the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas

FEBS Letters

Reichhart, J.M.¹  Montagnani, C.²  Escoubas, J.M.²  Kappler, C.¹ 

[1] Institut de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire (IBMC), UPR 9022 du CNRS, 15 rue R. Descartes, 67084 Strasbourg, France;Laboratoire de Défense et Résistance chez les Invertébrés Marins (DRIM) (IFREMER, CNRS, UMII), Université de Montpellier II, 2 place Eugène Bataillon, CC80, 34095 Montpellier, France

关键词: Bivalve mollusk;    Rel/nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway;    Oyster Crassostrea gigas;   

DOI  :  10.1016/S0014-5793(04)00124-3

学科分类：生物化学/生物物理

来源: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

【 摘 要 】

We report here the identification and functional characterization of Cg-Rel, a gene encoding the Crassostrea gigas homolog of Rel/NF-κB transcription factors found in insects and mammals. Sequence and phylogenetic analysis showed that Cg-Rel shares the structural organization of Rel/NF-κB transcription factors of class II. It includes a Rel homology domain as well as a C-terminal transactivation domain (TD). Overexpression of Cg-Rel in the Drosophila S2 cell line activated the expression of a NF-κB-dependent reporter gene, whereas transfection with a Cg-Rel construct containing a C-terminal deletion of the TD or using a reporter gene with mutated κB binding sites failed to activate expression. These results suggest that Cg-Rel is a functional member of the Rel family of transcription factors, making this the sixth structurally homologous component of the Rel/NF-κB pathway characterized in C. gigas. Based on homology to other invertebrates’ Rel/NF-κB cascade, the function of the oyster pathway may serve to regulate genes involved in innate defense and/or development. These findings serve to highlight a potentially important regulatory pathway to the study of oyster immunology, hence allowing comparison of the immune system in vertebrates and invertebrates, an important key issue to understand its evolution.

【 授权许可】

Unknown