Molecular Characterization of the BMP7 Gene and Its Potential Role in Shell Formation in Pinctada martensii

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Fang Yan²  Shaojie Luo²  Yu Jiao¹  Yuewen Deng¹  Xiaodong Du²  Ronglian Huang²  Qingheng Wang²  Weiyao Chen² 

[1] Fishery College, Guangdong Ocean University, 40 East Jiefang Road, Xiashan District, Zhanjiang 524025, Guangdong, China;

关键词: Pinctada martensii;    bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP7);    RNA interference;    nacre;    prismatic layer;    shell;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms151121215

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP7), also called osteogenetic protein-1, can induce bone formation. In this study, the obtained full-length cDNA of BMP7 from Pinctada martensii (Pm-BMP7) was 2972 bp, including a 5'-untranslated region (UTR) of 294 bp, an open reading fragment of 1290 bp encoding a 429 amino acid polypeptide and a 3'-UTR of 1388 bp. The deduced protein sequence of Pm-BMP7 contained a signal peptide, a pro-domain and a mature peptide. The mature peptide consisted of 135 amino acids and included a transforming growth factor β family domain with six shared cysteine residues. The protein sequence of Pm-BMP7 showed 66% identity with that from Crassostrea gigas. Two unigenes encoding Pm-BMPRI (Pm-BMP receptor I) and Pm-BMPRII were obtained from the transcriptome database of P. martensii. Tissue expression analysis demonstrated Pm-BMP7 and Pm-BMPRI were highly expressed in the mantle (shell formation related-tissue), while Pm-BMPRII was highly expressed in the foot. After inhibiting Pm-BMP7 expression using RNA interference (RNAi) technology, Pm-BMP7 mRNA was significantly down-regulated (p < 0.05) in the mantle pallium (nacre formation related-tissue) and the mantle edge (prismatic layer formation related-tissue). The microstructure, observed using a scanning electron microscope, indicated a disordered growth status in the nacre and obvious holes in the prismatic layer in the dsRNA-Pm-BMP7 injected-group. These results suggest that Pm-BMP7 plays a crucial role in the nacre and prismatic layer formation process of the shell.

【 授权许可】

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© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.