Identification of a cDNa for Medaka Cytoskeletal β-Actin and Construction for the Reverse Transcriptase-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) Primers

Abstract

A full-length cDNA for medaka cytoskeletal β-actin was isolated from a liver cDNA library. The entire coding region was 1125 bp long and was well conserved with respect to other vertebrate β-actins. Two primers for a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay were constructed from the nonvariable region among medaka, carp, chicken, and mouse β-actin. RT-PCR amplified a 510 bp DNA band from medaka cDNA synthesized from the blood, brain, heart, intestine, kidney, liver, muscle, ovary, spleen, and testis poly(A)+mRNA. The constructed primers were used successfully to detect a specific 510 bp fragment of β-actin from zebrafish, rainbow trout, and Japanese flounder.