Cloning and sequence analysis of a zebrafish cDNA encoding DNA (cytosine-5)-methyltransferase-1

The zebrafish has become a well-established animal model for the analysis o f development and of several disease phenotypes. Several of the favorable t raits that make it a popular model organism would also be beneficial for th e study of normal and abnormal vertebrate development in which DNA methylat ion may play a role. We report the determination of the full-length cDNA se quence corresponding to the zebrafish DNA (cytosine-5-) methyltransferase g ene, Dnmt1. It is 4,907 bases long and has an open reading frame predicted to encode a 1,499 amino acid protein that is similar in size and sequence t o a number of other methyltransferases identified in other organisms. (C) 2 001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.