Screening of Potential Stress-Responsive and Immune-Related Genes by Exprssed Sequence Tags in Mud Loach (Misgurnus mizolepis)

Abstract

EST analysis was performed to identify stress-responsive and immune-related genes from mud loach (Misgurnus mizolepis). cDNA libraries were constructed with liver, intestine and kidney tissues and randomly chosen clones (216 for liver, 198 for intestine and 224 for kidney) were subjected to automated sequence analysis. Of 638 clones sequenced in total, approximately 25% of ESTs was novel sequences (no match to GenBank) or sequences with high homology to hypothetical/unknown genes. Several potential stress-responsive biomarker and/or immune-related genes were identified in all the tissues examined. It included lectin, MHC class I/II proteins, proteinase, proteinase inhibitors, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione-S- transferase, heat-shock protein, warm temperature acclimation protein, complements, methyltransferase, zinc finger proteins, macrophage maturation associated protein, and others. This information will offer new possibilities as fundamental baseline data for the molecular genetics and breeding of this species with an emphasis on the development of stress (and disease)-resistant fish.