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Hormonal regulation of antifreeze protein gene expression in winter flounder

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Abstract

The essential features of experiments carried out over the past fifteen years are brought together with new data to formulate a model describing the hormonal regulation of the annual plasma antifreeze polypeptide (AFP) cycle in winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus). The precise time of onset of antifreeze synthesis in the fall appears to be regulated by photoperiod acting through the central nervous system (CNS) on the pituitary gland. During the summer, growth hormone (GH) blocks transcription of the AFP genes. With the loss of long daylengths in the fall, the CNS inhibits the release of GH allowing AFP gene transcription in the liver to proceed. In the spring GH is again released from the pituitary and AFP gene transcription is blocked.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Laboratory, Ocean Sciences Centre, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, Nfld., Canada, A1C 5S7

    Garth L. Fletcher, David R. Idler & Allan Vaisius

  2. Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5G 1X8

    Choy L. Hew

Authors
  1. Garth L. Fletcher
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  2. David R. Idler
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  3. Allan Vaisius
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  4. Choy L. Hew
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Fletcher, G.L., Idler, D.R., Vaisius, A. et al. Hormonal regulation of antifreeze protein gene expression in winter flounder. Fish Physiol Biochem 7, 387–393 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00004733

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