Transcriptomics of a Greenlandic Snailfish Reveals Exceptionally High Expression of Antifreeze Protein Transcripts ...

• Main Authors: Burns, John A, Gruber, David F, Gaffney, Jean P, Sparks, John S, Brugler, Mercer R
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: SAGE Journals 2022
• Subjects: Cell Biology; Greenland; greenlandic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25384/sage.c.6151293.v1; https://sage.figshare.com/collections/Transcriptomics_of_a_Greenlandic_Snailfish_Reveals_Exceptionally_High_Expression_of_Antifreeze_Protein_Transcripts/6151293/1

Polar fishes have evolved antifreeze proteins (AFPs) that allow them to survive in subzero temperatures. We performed deep transcriptomic sequencing on a postlarval/juvenile variegated snailfish, Liparis gibbus (Actinopterygii: Scorpaeniformes: Cottoidei: Liparidae), living in an iceberg habitat (−2°C) in Eastern Greenland and report detection of highly expressed transcripts that code for putative AFPs from 2 gene families, Type I and LS-12-like proteins (putative Type IV AFPs). The transcripts encoding both proteins have expression levels among the top <1% of expressed genes in the fish. The Type I AFP sequence is different from a reported Type I AFP from the same species, possibly expressed from a different genetic locus. While prior findings from related adult sculpins suggest that LS-12-like/Type IV AFPs may not have a role in antifreeze protection, our finding of very high relative gene expression of the LS-12-like gene suggests that highly active transcription of the gene is important to the fish in ...