虾夷扇贝Prop1基因功能及表达调控研究

Prop1是脊椎动物垂体特异性转录因子，对垂体发育和动物生长均具有关键调控作用。我们通过前期研究，在缺乏大脑和垂体结构的无脊椎动物扇贝中，发现Prop1与生长相关，且在成体扇贝中该基因只在脑神经节表达，暗示脊椎动物垂体发育及其对生长的调控可能有古老的进化起源。本项目将在此基础上，进一步研究扇贝Prop1基因的表达调控机制及其在扇贝生长发育中的功能，以期为深入理解脊椎动物的垂体起源以及Prop1基因在高产扇贝育种中的应用价值提供理论参考。项目主要研究内容包括：分析Prop1基因在虾夷扇贝发育过程中和成体组织中的表达特征，以及表达该基因的细胞特征；获得与Prop1互作的蛋白和基因，分析相关基因的表达特征，以及Prop1及其互作蛋白和基因的时空表达关系；筛查Prop1基因变异并分析基因变异与扇贝生长性状以及基因表达间的关联；分析Prop1在扇贝生长发育中的功能及其表达调控机制。

Prop1 is pituitary specific transcription factor in vertebrate where it plays critical roles in pituitary development and animal growth. Recently we found that in invertebrate scallop which is lack of brain and pituitary, the Prop1 gene was associated with growth and only expressed in cerebroganglion of adult scallop, implying the ancient evolutionary origin of pituitary development and the involvement of Prop1 in growth regulation of scallop. In this project, the following studies will be performed to analyze Prop1 function and expression regulation in scallop, which could be helpful to improve our understanding in the evolution of pituitary development and also benefit the molecular breeding of scallop aiming to growth improvement: analyzing the expression pattern of Prop1 gene during Yesso scallop development and in the adult tissues, and characterizing the cells where Prop1 is expressed; identifying proteins and genes interacting with Prop1, analyzing the expression patterns of these genes, and revealing the relationship among these genes and Prop1 with respect to their tempospatial expression patterns; screening variants in Prop1 gene, and analyzing the association of the variants with scallop growth and the expression of Prop1 and the related genes; studying the expression regulation and functions of Prop1 in scallop growth and development.