The Expression Pattern of Melatonin Receptor 1a Gene during Early Life Stages in the Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus).

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Jin, Ye Hwa Park, Jin Woo Kim, Jung-Hyun Kwon, Joon Yeong
Copyright Year	2013
Abstract	The action of melatonin within the body of animals is known to be mediated by melatonin receptors. Three different types of melatonin receptors have been identified so far in fish. However, which of these are specifically involved in puberty onset is not known in fish. We cloned and analyzed the sequence of melatonin receptor 1a (mel 1a) gene in Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus. In addition, we examined the tissue distribution of gene expressions for three types of receptors, mel 1a, 1b and lc and investigated which of them is involved in the onset of puberty by comparing their expression with that of gonadotropin-releasing hormone receptor I (GnRHr I) gene using quantitative real-time PCR from 1 week post hatch (wph) to 24 wph. The mel 1a gene of Nile tilapia consisted of two exons and one bulky intron between them. Mel 1a gene was found to be highly conserved gene showing high homology with the corresponding genes from different teleost. All three types of melatonin receptor genes were expressed in the brain, eyes and ovary in common. Expression of mel 1a gene was the most abundant and ubiquitous among 3 receptors in the brain, liver, gill, ovary, muscle, eye, heart, intestine, spleen and kidney. Mel 1b and mel 1c genes were, however, expressed in fewer tissues at low level. During the development post hatch, expressions of both mel 1a and GnRHr I genes significantly increased at 13 wph which was close to the putative timing of puberty onset in this species. These results suggest that among three types of receptors mel 1a is most likely associated with the action of melatonin in the onset of puberty in Nile tilapia.
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ISSN	24659525
Journal	Development & Reproduction [Dev Reprod]
Volume Number	17
PubMed Central reference number	PMC4282221
Issue Number	1
PubMed reference number	25949120
e-ISSN	24659541
DOI	10.12717/dr.2013.17.1.045
Language	English
Publisher	Korean Society of Developmental Biology
Publisher Date	2013-03-01
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. © Korean Society of Developmental Biology. All Rights Reserved
Subject Keyword	Melatonin receptors Mel 1a Puberty Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Medicine Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology