Lau Suk Kwan. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 128-150). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Acknowledgment --- p.i / Table of content --- p.ii / List of Figures --- p.x / List of Tables --- p.xiv / Abbreviation --- p.xv / Abstract --- p.xviii / 論文摘要 --- p.xx / Chapter 1 --- Chapter 1 Introduction --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1 --- Tetraodon nigroviridis --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.1 --- Background --- p.1 / Chapter 1.1.2 --- Genomic Sequencing Project --- p.3 / Chapter 1.1.3 --- Tetraodon nigroviridis as Study Model --- p.4 / Chapter 1.1.3.1 --- Genomic Comparison --- p.4 / Chapter 1.1.3.2 --- Gene Order and Structural Studies --- p.5 / Chapter 1.1.3.3 --- Genomic Evolution --- p.6 / Chapter 1.2 --- Transcriptional Regulation and Transcription Factors Binding Sites Prediction --- p.7 / Chapter 1.2.1 --- Transcriptional Regulation --- p.7 / Chapter 1.2.1.1 --- Chromatin Remodeling --- p.7 / Chapter 1.2.1.2 --- Locus Control Regions (LCR) and Boundary Elements --- p.8 / Chapter 1.2.1.3 --- Promoter Structure --- p.9 / Chapter 1.2.1.4 --- Transcriptional Machinery Assembly --- p.10 / Chapter 1.2.2 --- Transcription Factors and Their Binding Sites --- p.11 / Chapter 1.2.3 --- Transcription Factor Binding Site Prediction --- p.12 / Chapter 1.3 --- Acetylcholinesterase --- p.15 / Chapter 1.3.1 --- Background --- p.15 / Chapter 1.3.2 --- Regulation ofAChE --- p.17 / Chapter 1.3.2.1 --- Transcriptional Level --- p.17 / Chapter 1.3.2.2 --- Post-transcriptional Level --- p.19 / Chapter 1.3.2.3 --- Post-translational Level --- p.20 / Chapter 1.3.2.3.1 --- Oligomerization --- p.20 / Chapter 1.3.2.3.2 --- Glycosylation --- p.21 / Chapter 1.3.2.3.3 --- Phosphroylation --- p.22 / Chapter 1.3.3 --- Functions of AChE --- p.23 / Chapter 1.3.3.1 --- Hydrolysis Acetylcholine --- p.23 / Chapter 1.3.3.2 --- Embryonic Development --- p.23 / Chapter 1.3.3.3 --- Haemotopotesis and Thrombopsiesis --- p.24 / Chapter 1.3.3.4 --- Neuritogensis --- p.24 / Chapter 1.3.3.5 --- Amyloid Fibre Assembly --- p.24 / Chapter 1.3.3.6 --- Apoptosis --- p.25 / Chapter 1.3.4 --- AChE and Alzheimer's disease --- p.25 / Chapter 1.3.4.1 --- Treatment for AD Patients --- p.27 / Chapter 1.4 --- Inducible Cell Expression Systems --- p.28 / Chapter 1.5 --- Objectives --- p.32 / Chapter 2 --- Chapter 2 Materials and Methods --- p.33 / Chapter 2.1 --- Materials --- p.33 / Chapter 2.2 --- Methods --- p.34 / Chapter 2.2.1 --- Primer Design --- p.34 / Chapter 2.2.2 --- Cell Culture --- p.34 / Chapter 2.2.3 --- Transformation --- p.35 / Chapter 2.2.4 --- Plasmids Preparation --- p.35 / Chapter 2.2.5 --- Plasmids Screening --- p.36 / Chapter 2.2.6 --- RNA Extraction --- p.36 / Chapter 2.2.7 --- Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction and Construction tnAChE/pCR4 vector --- p.37 / Chapter 2.2.8 --- Genomic Analysis --- p.37 / Chapter 2.2.9 --- Protein Sequence Analysis --- p.38 / Chapter 2.2.10 --- Genomic DNA Extraction --- p.39 / Chapter 2.2.11 --- Construction of Reporter Vectors ptnAChE_565/pGL3 and ptnAChK1143/pGL3 --- p.39 / Chapter 2.2.12 --- Luciferase Assay --- p.40 / Chapter 2.2.13 --- Transcription Factors and Promoter Prediction --- p.40 / Chapter 2.2.14 --- Protein Assay --- p.41 / Chapter 2.2.15 --- AChE Activity Determined by Ellman's Method --- p.41 / Chapter 2.2.16 --- Histochemistry --- p.42 / Chapter 2.2.17 --- Protein Extraction from Tissues --- p.42 / Chapter 2.2.18 --- Construction of Bacterial Expression Vector His-MBP-tnAChEAC/pHISMAL --- p.43 / Chapter 2.2.19 --- Protein Expression in Bacterial Expression System --- p.43 / Chapter 2.2.20 --- Purification and Thrombin Cleavage of His-MBP- tnAChEAC --- p.44 / Chapter 2.2.21 --- SDS Electrophoresis --- p.44 / Chapter 2.2.22 --- Western Blotting --- p.45 / Chapter 2.2.23 --- Construction of Tet-Off Expression Vector --- p.45 / Chapter 2.2.24 --- Transient Expression of tnAChEAC --- p.46 / Chapter 2.2.25 --- Establishment of Stable Tet-Off CHO Cell Lines Overexpressing tnAChEAC --- p.47 / Chapter 2.2.26 --- MTT Assay --- p.47 / Chapter 2.2.27 --- Partial Purification of tnAChEΔC --- p.48 / Chapter 3 --- Chapter 3 Sequence Analysis of AChE Gene of Tetraodon nigroviridis --- p.49 / Chapter 3.1 --- Results --- p.49 / Chapter 3.1.1 --- Cloning of tnAChE from Tetraodon nigroviridis Brain --- p.49 / Chapter 3.1.2 --- "Comparative genomic analysis of tnAChE with Human, Rat, Mouse, Takifugu rubripes, ZebrafishAChE" --- p.49 / Chapter 3.1.3 --- Primary Sequence Analysis --- p.52 / Chapter 3.1.4 --- Promoter and Transcriptional Factors Predictedin tnAChE Promoter Region --- p.60 / Chapter 3.1.4.1 --- Promoter Region Analysis In Silico --- p.60 / Chapter 3.1.4.2 --- Promoter Activity Analysis --- p.76 / Chapter 3.2 --- Discussion --- p.78 / Chapter 4 --- Characterization of tnAChE in Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Tet-Off Inducible Expression System --- p.91 / Chapter 4.1 --- Results --- p.91 / Chapter 4.1.1 --- AChE Expresses in Tetraodon nigroviridis --- p.91 / Chapter 4.1.2 --- Expression of recombinant tnAChE in Bacterial Expression System --- p.94 / Chapter 4.1.2.1 --- Construction of His-MBP-tnAChEΔC/pHISMAL Construct --- p.94 / Chapter 4.1.2.2 --- His-MBP-tnAChEAC Expression in E. coli Strains BL21 (DE) and C41 --- p.94 / Chapter 4.1.3 --- Expression of tnAChEAC in Mammalian Expression System --- p.99 / Chapter 4.1.3.1 --- Construction of tnAChEAC/pTRE2hgyo Mammalian Expression Vector --- p.99 / Chapter 4.1.3.2 --- Transient Expression of tnAChEAC --- p.99 / Chapter 4.1.3.3 --- Establishment of Tet-Off CHO Cells Stably Expressing the Inducible tnAChEAC --- p.101 / Chapter 4.1.3.4 --- Characterization of Tet-Off tnAChEAC Stably Transfected Cell Clones --- p.103 / Chapter 4.1.3.5 --- Effect of Over Expressed tnAChEAC on cell viability --- p.103 / Chapter 4.1.3.6 --- Partial Purification of tnAChEAC from Stably Transfected Cells --- p.107 / Chapter 4.1.3.7 --- tnAChE and tnAChEAC in Different pH Values --- p.112 / Chapter 4.1.3.8 --- Kinetic Study of tnAChEAC --- p.112 / Chapter 4.1.3.9 --- Inhibition of AChE Activity of Partial Purified tnAChEAC by Huperzine --- p.112 / Chapter 4.2 --- Discussion --- p.116 / Chapter 4.2.1 --- Bacterial Expression System --- p.116 / Chapter 4.2.2 --- Expression of tnAChEΔC in Mammalian System --- p.119 / Chapter 5 --- General Discussion --- p.124 / Chapter 5.1 --- Summaries --- p.124 / Chapter 5.2 --- Further works --- p.126 / Chapter 6 --- References --- p.128 / Appendix 1 internet software and database used in this project --- p.151 / Appendix 2 tnAChE mRNA sequence --- p.152 / Appendix 3 ptnAChE-1143 sequence --- p.154 / Appendix 4 Six open reading frame translation of ptnAChE-1143 --- p.156

The fatty acid-binding protein (fabp) genes belong to the multigene family of intracellular lipid-binding proteins (iLBP). To date, 12 different FABPs have been identified in various vertebrate genomes. Owing to the fish-specific whole genome duplication (FSGD) event, many fishes have duplicated copies of the fabp genes. Here, I identified and characterized the fabp genes of spotted green pufferfish (Tetraodon nigroviridis). Initially, a BLAST search was performed and ten fabp genes were identified, out of which, three were retained in the pufferfish genome as duplicated copies. The putative pufferfish Fabp proteins shared greatest sequence identity and similarity with their teleost and tetrapod orthologs. Conserved gene synteny was evident between the pufferfish fabp genes and human, zebrafish, three-spined stickleback and medaka FABP/fabp genes, providing evidence that the duplicated copies of pufferfish fabp genes most likely arose as a result of the FSGD. The differential tissue-specific distribution of pufferfish fabp transcripts suggests divergent spatial regulation of duplicated pairs of fabp genes.

Higher teleost fishes, including zebrafish and fugu, have duplicated their Hox genes relative to the gene inventory of other gnathostome lineages. The most widely accepted theory contends that the duplicate Hox clusters orginated synchronously during a single genome duplication event in the early history of ray-finned fishes. In this contribution we collect and re-evaluate all publicly available sequence information. In particular, we show that the short Hox gene fragments from published PCR surveys of the killifish Fundulus heteroclitus, the medaka Oryzias latipes and the goldfish Carassius auratus can be used to determine with little ambiguity not only their paralog group but also their membership in a particular cluster. Together with a survey of the genomic sequence data from the pufferfish Tetraodon nigroviridis we show that at least percomorpha, and possibly all eutelosts, share a system of 7 or 8 orthologous Hox gene clusters. There is little doubt about the orthology of the two teleost duplicates of the HoxA and HoxB clusters. A careful analysis of both the coding sequence of Hox genes and of conserved non-coding sequences provides additional support for the “duplication early” hypothesis that the Hox clusters in teleosts are derived from eight ancestral clusters by means of subsequent gene loss; the data remain ambiguous, however, in particular for the HoxC clusters. Assuming the “duplication early” hypothesis we use the new evidence on the Hox gene complements to determine the phylogenetic positions of gene-loss events in the wake of the cluster duplication. Surprisingly, we find that the resolution of redundancy seems to be a slow process that is still ongoing. A few suggestions on which additional sequence data would be most informative for resolving the history of the teleostean Hox genes are discussed.