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Developmental genetics of the esterase isozymes of Fundulus heteroclitus

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Abstract

The ontogeny of the esterase isozymes of the teleost, Fundulus heteroclitus, has been investigated. One group of esterase isozymes is present at all stages of development, whereas other esterase isozymes only very gradually appear at later stages of development, or abruptly appear at such dramatic developmental events as hatching. The ontogeny of these isozyme patterns is interpreted as the expression of differential regulation of separate esterase genes. The general pattern of teleost esterase gene activation is similar to that reported for birds and mammals. Allelic variation was detected at two of the esterase loci. On the basis of electrophoretic mobility, substrate specificity, inhibitor specificity, genetic variation, and ontogeny of esterases, there appear to be at least 15 different esterase isozymes, which constitute 6–8 groups, each of which is probably encoded in one or more genetic loci.

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Author notes

  1. R. S. Holmes

    Present address: Department of Biochemistry, Queensland University, Brisbane, Australia

  2. G. S. Whitt

    Present address: Department of Zoology, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut

    R. S. Holmes & G. S. Whitt

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  1. R. S. Holmes
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  2. G. S. Whitt
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Additional information

This study was supported by NSF Grant GB 544OX to Professor C. L. Markert and an NSF Graduate Fellowship to G. S. Whitt.

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Holmes, R.S., Whitt, G.S. Developmental genetics of the esterase isozymes of Fundulus heteroclitus . Biochem Genet 4, 471–480 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00486597

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00486597

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