PUBLICATION
Pineal expression-promoting element (PIPE), a cis-acting element, directs pineal-specific gene expression in zebrafish
- Authors
- Asaoka, Y., Mano, H., Kojima, D., and Fukada, Y.
- ID
- ZDB-PUB-030115-2
- Date
- 2002
- Source
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 99: 15456-15461 (Journal)
- Registered Authors
- Fukada, Yoshitaka, Kojima, Daisuke
- Keywords
- none
- MeSH Terms
-
- Amino Acid Sequence
- Animals
- Animals, Genetically Modified
- Binding Sites
- Eels/genetics
- Eye Proteins/biosynthesis
- Eye Proteins/genetics
- Gene Expression Regulation/genetics*
- Genes, Homeobox/genetics
- Genes, Reporter
- Green Fluorescent Proteins
- Homeodomain Proteins/metabolism
- Luminescent Proteins/biosynthesis
- Molecular Sequence Data
- Mutagenesis, Site-Directed
- Nerve Tissue Proteins/biosynthesis
- Nerve Tissue Proteins/genetics
- Organ Specificity
- Otx Transcription Factors
- Pineal Gland/metabolism*
- Promoter Regions, Genetic
- Recombinant Fusion Proteins/biosynthesis
- Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid*
- Retina/metabolism
- Rhodopsin/genetics
- Sequence Alignment
- Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
- Species Specificity
- Trans-Activators/metabolism
- Zebrafish/genetics*
- PubMed
- 12438694 Full text @ Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
Citation
Asaoka, Y., Mano, H., Kojima, D., and Fukada, Y. (2002) Pineal expression-promoting element (PIPE), a cis-acting element, directs pineal-specific gene expression in zebrafish. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 99:15456-15461.
Abstract
The pineal gland, sharing morphological and biochemical similarities with the retina, plays a unique and central role in the photoneuroendocrine system. The unique development of the pineal gland is directed by a specific combination of the expressed genes, but little is known about the regulatory mechanism underlying the pineal-specific gene expression. We isolated a 1.1-kbp fragment upstream of the zebrafish exo-rhodopsin (exorh) gene, which is expressed specifically in the pineal gland. Transgenic analysis using an enhanced green fluorescent protein reporter gene demonstrated that the proximal 147-bp region of the exorh promoter is sufficient to direct pineal-specific expression. This region contains three copies of a putative cone rod homeobox (Crx)Otx-binding site, which is known to be required for expression of both retina- and pineal-specific genes. Deletion and mutational analyses of the exorh promoter revealed that a previously uncharacterized sequence TGACCCCAATCT termed pineal expression-promoting element (PIPE) is required for pineal-specific promoter activity in addition to the CrxOtx-binding sites. By using the zebrafish rhodopsin (rh) promoter that drives retina-specific expression, we created a reporter construct having ectopic PIPE in the rh promoter at a position equivalent to that in the exorh promoter by introducing five nucleotide changes. Such a slight modification in the rh promoter induced ectopic enhanced green fluorescent protein expression in the pineal gland without affecting its retinal expression. These results identify PIPE as a critical cis-element contributing to the pineal-specific gene expression, in combination with the CrxOtx-binding site(s).
Genes / Markers
Expression
Phenotype
Mutations / Transgenics
Human Disease / Model
Sequence Targeting Reagents
Fish
Orthology
Engineered Foreign Genes
Mapping