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MBE Advance Access originally published online on March 7, 2007
Molecular Biology and Evolution 2007 24(5):1259-1268; doi:10.1093/molbev/msm047
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Research Articles

Zebrafish Ribonucleases Are Bactericidal: Implications for the Origin of the Vertebrate RNase A Superfamily

Soochin Cho and Jianzhi Zhang

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan

E-mail: jianzhi{at}umich.edu.

Accepted for publication March 4, 2007.

Understanding the evolutionary origin of the ribonuclease (RNase) A superfamily is of great interest because the superfamily is the sole vertebrate-specific enzyme family known to date. Although mammalian RNases have a diverse array of biochemical and physiological functions, the original function of the superfamily at its birth is enigmatic. Such information may be obtained by studying basal lineages of the vertebrate phylogeny and is necessary for discerning how and why this superfamily originated. Here, we clone and characterize 3 RNase genes from the zebrafish, the most basal vertebrate examined for RNases. We report 1) that all the 3 zebrafish RNases are ribonucleolytically active, with one of them having an RNase activity comparable to that of bovine RNase A, the prototype of the superfamily; 2) that 2 zebrafish RNases have prominent expressions in adult liver and gut, whereas the 3rd is expressed in adult eye and heart; and 3) that all 3 RNases have antibacterial activities in vitro. These results, together with the presence of antibacterial and/or antiviral activities in multiple distantly related mammalian RNases, strongly suggest that the superfamily started as a host-defense mechanism in vertebrate evolution.

Key Words: RNase • angiogenin • Danio rerio • antibacterial • host defense • molecular evolution

David Irwin, Associated Editor


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 J. Leukoc. Biol.Home page
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RNase A ribonucleases and host defense: an evolving story
J. Leukoc. Biol., May 1, 2008; 83(5): 1079 - 1087.
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