Characterization and Evolution of Dishevelled Genes in Paralichthys olivaceus

Abstract

The study examined the key gene Dishevelled (Dvl or Dsh) in Wnt (Wingless and INT-1) signaling pathways. The gene (Dvl) was characterized in the flat fish Paralichthys olivaceus for its expression pattern structure and phylogenetics at the Ocean University of China in Qingdao, China in 2018. Three gene paralogues (Dvl1, Dvl2 and Dvl3) of the Dvl family were cloned in P. olivaceus and a N-terminal DAX domain, a central PDZ domain and a C-terminal DEP domain were discovered in all three protein paralogues. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Dvl genes in P. olivaceus are most closely related to those in marine teleosts Larimichthys crocea and Stegastes partitus, followed by those in Cynoglossus semilaevis. For each Dvl gene, the genes in teleosts fall into a clade independent from the ones in other vertebrates, suggesting that the duplication of Dvl genes occurred prior to the divergence of vertebrates. The temporal expression patterns of the three Dvl genes were characterized during the embryonic development of teleosts. In P. olivaceus, all three Dvl genes remain at low expression levels during the early stages of development until gastrula stage, when the expression of Dvl1 was significantly up-regulated. The research revealed vastly different temporal expression patterns of Dvl genes and suggested that the structure of Dvl proteins is conserved, but the expression patterns of Dvl genes vary significantly among different classes.