CLONING AND EXPRESSION ANALYSIS OF PEANUT WORMS TRANSCRIPTION FACTOR DMRT1

dThe DMRT1 (double sex and mab-3 related transcription factor 1) is a highly conserved transcriptional regulator to play important role in sex determination and differentiation in most species ranging from nematodes to mammals. In this study, we cloned the cDNA sequence of dmrt1 from peanut worms cDNA library by RACE-PCRs. The full-length dmrt1 cDNA was 1509 bp with a 615 bp open reading frame (ORF) encoding a protein of 204 amino acids. Bioinformatics analysis showed that peanut worms DM domain shared high homology (>70%) with those of other vertebrates as well as the invertebrate marine mollusks DMRT1. dmrt1 was abundantly expressed in coelomic fluid of male peanut worms, where existed the germ cells. In situ hybridization explored positive dmrt1 signals in the trophoblast cells. These results suggested that dmrt1 may play important role in male germ cell development, and reproductive regulation in spermatocyte maturation of peanut worms.