Acropora digitifera Encodes the Largest Known Family of Fluorescent Proteins that Has Persisted during the Evolution of Acropora Species.

ABSTRACT: Fluorescent proteins (FPs) are well known and broadly used as bio-imaging markers in molecular biology research. Many FP genes were cloned from anthozoan species and it was suggested that multi-copies of these genes are present in their genomes. However, the full complement of FP genes in any single coral species remained unidentified. In this study, we analyzed the FP genes in two stony coral species. FP cDNA sequences from Acropora digitifera and Acropora tenuis revealed the presence of a multi-gene family with an unexpectedly large number of genes, separated into short-/middle-wavelength emission (S/MWE), middle-/long-wavelength emission (M/LWE), and chromoprotein (CP) clades. FP gene copy numbers in the genomes of four A. digitifera colonies were estimated as 16-22 in the S/MWE, 3-6 in

SUBMITTER: Takahashi-Kariyazono S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5203795 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature