Seasonal adaptation modulates the expression of the protein kinase CK2 beta subunit gene in the carp

Carp fish seasonal acclimatization induces a cyclical transcriptional modul ation of several genes. Its most dramatic expression results in a concomita nt structural rearrangement of the nucleolar components that phenotypically represents profound shifts in the level of ribosomal RNA synthesis. In con nection with the recent studies that implicate CK2 in the control of rRNA s ynthesis in vertebrates, we characterized the cDNA of carp protein kinase C K2 beta subunit and assessed its transcriptional behavior in winter- and su mmer-acclimatized fish. We found a remarkable differential gene expression of CK2 beta subunit between summer- and winter-acclimatized carp which corr elates with the modulatory pattern observed in rRNA transcription. (C) 2000 Academic Press.