Identification and Characterization of Myostatin Gene in Rough-skinned Sculp, Trachidermus fasciatus

Myostatin is a member of the TGF-β superfamily and acts as a negative regulator of skeletal muscle growth. The characterization of the myostatin gene and its expression in Trachidermus fasciatus was reported in the current study. A full-length of 2 568 bp myostatin cDNA sequence in T. fasciats was cloned by 5' and 3' RACE, which included a 1 128 bp complete ORF encoding a 375 amino acid peptide, a 106 bp long 5'-UTR and a 1134 bp long 3′UTR. As other MSTN, the putative peptide contains a 22 amino acids long signal peptide, a conserved RXXR proteolytic processing site, and 10 conserved cysteine residues in the C terminal of the protein. The Trachidermus fasciatus MSTN has high homology with Umbrina cirrosa, Morone saxatilis, Morone americana, Morone chrysops myostatin while has low homology with mammalian and birds myostatin. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the T. fasciatus myostatin had the closest relationship with U. cirrosa. In the four examined tissues, the myostatin gene was highly expressed in muscle and intestine and weakly expressed in brain and liver. These results suggested that the fish myostatin gene might not only play roles in muscle development but also contribute to other biological functions.