GENOMIC ORGANIZATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE PROMOTER REGION OF THE ROUND-SPOTTED PUFFERFISH (TETRAODON FLUVIATILIS) JAK1 KINASE GENE

Seventeen kilobases of genomic DNA containing the promoter and the cod ing region of the round-spotted pufferfish JAK1 gene was isolated and completely sequenced. This gene consists of 25 exons and 24 introns sp anning about 13.5 kb, compared to > 30 kb in carp JAK1 gene, Primer ex tension analysis revealed one transcription initiation site which was 376 bp upstream of the translation initiation site. The sequence of th e 2.9 kb region upstream of the transcription initiation site contains numerous potential binding sites for transcription factors including HNF-5, GCF, Sp1, CRE, AP2, GATA, GAGA, E2A, p53, and NF-IL6. When this region was placed upstream of the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase ( CAT) reporter gene and transfected into a carp CF cell line, it could drive the synthesis of CAT enzyme three times more efficiently than co uld the common carp JAK1 promoter. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.