Isolation, characterization and activity analysis of selected promoters of mud crab, Scylla serrata

Abstract

Promoters viz. penaeidin (PEN), heat shock cognate 70 (HSC70), single whey acidic domain protein (SWD) and histone3 (H3) were PCR amplified and cloned from the genomic DNA of mud crab, Scylla serrata. The nucleotide sequences of the promoters when compared in silico with the sequences from other crustaceans, from the data base indicated the presence of several cis-acting regulatory elements like TATA, CAAT, SP1, NF-κB motifs etc. Each of the promoters was cloned into a promoter-less EGFP vector and their efficacy was analysed in mammalian cell lines. The histone3 promoter (pH3-EGFP) showed higher expression levels among the four promoters tested. These promoters can be useful for gene expression and transgenic animal model studies in crustaceans.