Comparative expression analysis of multiple PDK genes in Xenopus laevis during oogenesis, maturation, fertilization, and early embryogenesis

The complete family of expressed pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK) genes in the tissues of the African clawed frog, Xenopus laevis, consists of four members. Our previous study [Terazawa, Y., Tokmakov, A., Shirouzu, M., Yokoyama, S., 2005. Molecular cloning and expression analysis of PDK family genes in Xenopus laevis reveal oocyte-specific PDK isoform. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 338, 1798–1804] revealed that expression patterns of PDK genes differ greatly in the oocytes and somatic tissues of the adult frog. In the present work, using quantitative reverse-transcriptase PCR analysis, we demonstrate that the major transition from the oocyte-specific to somatic tissue-specific xPDK expression pattern occurs at the late stages of Xenopus embryogenesis after mid-blastula transition (MBT). Also, we show that the content of mRNA for xPDKo3, which is the predominant PDK isoform in oocytes and eggs, increases by about 3-fold during maturation. Other PDK family genes are down-regulated during oogenesis, thus being at their lowest expression levels in the grown-up oocytes, matured eggs, and early embryos. The expression of all PDK genes increases several-fold in the embryogenesis following MBT. Analysis of protein expression using an antibody raised against C-terminal of xPDKo3 confirmed isoform-specific up-regulation of xPDKo3 late in maturation and revealed cytoplasmic and mitochondrial localization of this protein. Bioinformatics and mass-spectrometric analyses allowed identification of an N-terminal mitochondrial targeting signal and a peptide cleavage site in xPDKo3 molecule.