The vivid coloration of corals depends on fluorescent proteins that include cyan (CFP), green (GFP) and red (RFP) fluorescent proteins, and a non-fluorescent blue/purple chromoprotein. We examined how many genes encoding fluorescent proteins are present in the recently sequenced genome of the coral Acropora digitifera. Based on molecular phylogenetic analysis, we found one, five, one, and three candidate genes for CFP, GFP, RFP, and chromoprotein, respectively. The CFP and GFP genes are clustered in a ∼80-kb-long genomic region, suggesting that they originated from an ancestral gene by tandem duplication. Since CFP and GFP possess the same chromophore, the gene clustering may provide the first genomic evidence for a common origin of the two proteins. Comparison between the fluorescent protein genes of closely related coral species suggests an expansion of chromoprotein genes in the A. digitifera genome, and of RFP genes in the A. millepora genome. The A. digitifera fluorescent protein genes are expressed during embryonic and larval developmental stages and in adults, suggesting that the genes play a variety of roles in coral physiology.
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1 April 2012
Fluorescent Protein Candidate Genes in the Coral Acropora digitifera Genome
Chuya Shinzato,
Eiichi Shoguchi,
Makiko Tanaka,
Nori Satoh
Zoological Science
Vol. 29 • No. 4
April 2012
Vol. 29 • No. 4
April 2012
Acropora digitifera
chromoprotein genes
corals
fluorescent protein genes
gene clustering