Cloning and characterization of 37Â kDa laminin receptor precursor in pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata

A 1063 bp cDNA clone encoding a putative 37 kDa laminin receptor precursor (37 kDa LRP) is isolated from the mantle tissue of pearl oyster, Pinctada fucata. The amino acid sequence predicted from the cDNA sequence is 301 residues long, with a calculated molecular mass of 33.5 kDa. RT-PCR analysis shows that 37 kDa LRP mRNA is especially highly expressed in the mantle while widely expressed in several tissues. In situ hybridization analysis reveals that 37 kDa LRP is expressed in the outer epithelial cells of the mantle edge, suggesting its involvement in cell proliferation and secretion in P. fucata. The identification and characterization of 37 kDa LRP in the pearl oyster will help us to further understand the signal transduction in the processes of mantle epithelial cell proliferation and tissue formation.