UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

A study of the myosin heavy chain gene family in the carp

Ennion, Steven James; (1994) A study of the myosin heavy chain gene family in the carp. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London). Green open access

[thumbnail of A_study_of_the_myosin_heavy_ch.pdf] Text
A_study_of_the_myosin_heavy_ch.pdf

Download (15MB)

Abstract

Skeletal muscle has a striking potential for plasticity with an inherent ability to adapt to altered functional demands. The expression of various isoforms of the myosin heavy chain (MyoHC) plays a central role in facilitating these adaptive changes by conferring changes in contractile characteristics. In contrast to mammals, very little is known about the MyoHC isoforms and their genes in fish. This study aimed to characterise the family of MyoHC isogenes in the carp (Cyprinus carpio). Using genomic clone analysis and 3' RACE-PCR, the 3' untranslated regions of seven separate carp MyoHC isogenes (arbitrarily named types 1 to 7) were isolated and used to characterise the expression patterns of individual MyoHC isoforms. Northern blot analysis demonstrated that the carp MyoHC gene family is developmentally regulated and that their expression is also determined by environmental temperature. Two isoforms, types 1 and 5, are expressed in both adult and immature carp and three, types 2, 3 and 4, are expressed exclusively in immature carp. In situ hybridisation localised the expression of the type 2 MyoHC isoform to the developing pink muscle fibre layer in fry and 12 month old carp and demonstrated that distinct isoforms of the MyoHC are expressed in the red and white muscle fibres types. Types 6 and 7 MyoHC isoforms were shown to be expressed exclusively in the white muscle fibres of adult carp which had been acclimated to a warm (28°C) temperature. The expression of the type 7 MyoHC gene was localised, by in situ hybridisation, to the small diameter (10-25?m) white muscle fibres which are thought to be involved in fibre hyperplasia. The size of this gene at the genomic level was shown to be half the size of mammalian MyoHC isoforms and this difference in size was attributed to shorter introns.

Type: Thesis (Doctoral)
Qualification: Ph.D
Title: A study of the myosin heavy chain gene family in the carp
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Language: English
Additional information: Thesis digitised by ProQuest.
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10102839
Downloads since deposit
39Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item