Fushi tarazu factor 1 (Ftz-F1, NR5A) is a zinc-finger transcription factor that belongs to the nuclear receptor superfamily and regulates genes that are involved in sterol and steroid metabolism in gonads, adrenals, liver and other tissues. To understand the evolutionary origins and developmental genetic relationships of the Ftz-F1 genes, we have cloned four homologous Ftz-f1 genes in zebrafish, called ff1a, ff1b, ff1c and ff1d. These four genes have different temporal and spatial expression patterns during development, indicating that they have distinct mechanisms of genetic regulation. Among them, the ff1a expression pattern is similar to mammalian Nr5a2, while the ff1b pattern is similar to that of mammalian Nr5a1. Genetic mapping experiments show that these four ff1 genes are located on chromosome segments conserved between the zebrafish and human genomes, indicating a common ancestral origin. Phylogenetic and conserved synteny analysis show that ff1a is the orthologue of NR5A2, and that ff1b and ff1d genes are co-orthologues of NR5A1 that arose by a gene-duplication event, probably a whole-genome duplication, in the ray-fin lineage, and each gene is located next to an NR6A1 co-orthologue as in humans, showing that the tandem duplication occurred before the divergence of human and zebrafish lineages. ff1c does not have a mammalian counterpart. Thus we have characterized the phylogenetic relationships, expression patterns and chromosomal locations of these Ftz-F1 genes, and have demonstrated their identities as NR5A genes in relation to the orthologous genes in other species.
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Research Article|
June 21 2005
Gene duplication, gene loss and evolution of expression domains in the vertebrate nuclear receptor NR5A (Ftz-F1) family
Ming-Wei KUO;
Ming-Wei KUO
*Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, 128 Academia Road Section 2, Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan 115
†Institute of Fisheries Science, National Taiwan University, 1 Roosevelt Road Section 4, Taipei, Taiwan 106
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John POSTLETHWAIT;
John POSTLETHWAIT
‡Institute of Neuroscience, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, U.S.A.
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Wen-Chih LEE;
Wen-Chih LEE
*Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, 128 Academia Road Section 2, Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan 115
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Show-Wan LOU;
Show-Wan LOU
†Institute of Fisheries Science, National Taiwan University, 1 Roosevelt Road Section 4, Taipei, Taiwan 106
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Woon-Khiong CHAN;
Woon-Khiong CHAN
§Department of Biological Science, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore 119620
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Bon-chu CHUNG
Bon-chu CHUNG
1
*Institute of Molecular Biology, Academia Sinica, 128 Academia Road Section 2, Nankang, Taipei, Taiwan 115
1To whom correspondence should be addressed (email mbchung@sinica.edu.tw).
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Publisher: Portland Press Ltd
Received:
January 04 2005
Revision Received:
January 28 2005
Accepted:
February 22 2005
Accepted Manuscript online:
February 22 2005
Online ISSN: 1470-8728
Print ISSN: 0264-6021
The Biochemical Society, London
2005
Biochem J (2005) 389 (1): 19–26.
Article history
Received:
January 04 2005
Revision Received:
January 28 2005
Accepted:
February 22 2005
Accepted Manuscript online:
February 22 2005
Citation
Ming-Wei KUO, John POSTLETHWAIT, Wen-Chih LEE, Show-Wan LOU, Woon-Khiong CHAN, Bon-chu CHUNG; Gene duplication, gene loss and evolution of expression domains in the vertebrate nuclear receptor NR5A (Ftz-F1) family. Biochem J 1 July 2005; 389 (1): 19–26. doi: https://doi.org/10.1042/BJ20050005
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