Abstract
BackgroundZinc is an essential trace element in organisms, which serves as a cofactor for hundreds of enzymes that are involved in many pivotal biological processes including growth, development, reproduction and immunity. Therefore, the homeostasis of zinc in the cell is fundamental. The zinc transporter gene family is a large gene family that encodes proteins which regulate the movement of zinc across cellular and intracellular membranes. However, studies on teleost zinc transporters are mainly limited to model species.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe identified a set of 37 zinc transporters in common carp genome, including 17 from SLC30 family (ZnT), and 20 from SLC39 family (ZIP). Phylogenetic and syntenic analysis revealed that most of the zinc transporters are highly conserved, though recent gene duplication and gene losses do exist. Through examining the copy number of zinc transporter genes across several vertebrate genomes, thirteen zinc transporters in common carp are found to have undergone the gene duplications, including SLC30A1, SLC30A2, SLC30A5, SLC30A7, SLC30A9, SLC30A10, SLC39A1, SLC39A3, SLC39A4, SLC39A5, SLC39A6, SLC39A7 and SLC39A9. The expression patterns of all zinc transporters were established in various tissues, including blood, brain, gill, heart, intestine, liver, muscle, skin, spleen and kidney, and showed that most of the zinc transporters were ubiquitously expressed, indicating the critical role of zinc transporters in common carp.ConclusionsTo some extent, examination of gene families with detailed phylogenetic or orthology analysis could verify the authenticity and accuracy of assembly and annotation of the recently published common carp whole genome sequences. The gene families are also considered as a unique source for evolutionary studies. Moreover, the whole set of common carp zinc transporters provides an important genomic resource for future biochemical, toxicological and physiological studies of zinc in teleost.
Highlights
Zinc (Zn2+) is an essential trace element that plays important role in cells
Methodology/Principal Findings: We identified a set of 37 zinc transporters in common carp genome, including 17 from SLC30 family (ZnT), and 20 from SLC39 family (ZIP)
Through utilizing all available genomic resources, here, we identified a total of 37 zinc transporter genes in common carp genome, including 17 SLC30 members and 20 SLC39 members
Summary
Zinc (Zn2+) is an essential trace element that plays important role in cells This mineral serves as a cofactor for hundreds of enzymes that are involved in many pivotal biological processes including growth, development, reproduction and immunity [1]. There are two families of zinc transporter, SLC30, referred as ZnT, and SLC39, referred as ZIP, functioning in opposite directions to maintain cellular zinc homeostasis [4]. Zinc is an essential trace element in organisms, which serves as a cofactor for hundreds of enzymes that are involved in many pivotal biological processes including growth, development, reproduction and immunity. The zinc transporter gene family is a large gene family that encodes proteins which regulate the movement of zinc across cellular and intracellular membranes. Conclusions: To some extent, examination of gene families with detailed phylogenetic or orthology analysis could verify the authenticity and accuracy of assembly and annotation of the recently published common carp whole genome
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
