Gene structure and promoter function of a teleost ribosomal protein: a tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) L18 gene

We have cloned and characterized a tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) L18 ri bosomal protein gene, including the complete transcribed region and 488 bp of upstream regulatory sequences. We have also isolated two L18 cDNAs from another tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) with a few conservative nucleotide differences. Our results suggest the presence of two genes in both species. Reporter constructs were tested for transient expression in CV1 cells and in microinjected zebrafish and tilapia embryos. The tilapia L18 promoter wa s able to drive expression of the reporter gene in all three experiments, w ith no apparent preference for a particular tissue. The tilapia L18 promote r is therefore likely to be a powerful tool to drive tissue-independent gen e expression in fish. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.