Dataset Information

Leptin (ob gene) of the South African clawed frog Xenopus laevis.

ABSTRACT: Leptin, the protein product of the obese (ob) gene, is a type-I cytokine hormone secreted by fat that is integral to food intake regulation and influences almost every physiological system in juvenile and adult mammals. Since the identification of leptin in the mouse in 1994, biologists have searched for orthologous genes in other species with limited success. In this article, we report the identification and functional characterization of leptin and leptin receptor (LR) in Xenopus. Despite low amino acid sequence similarity to mammalian leptins ( approximately 35%) the frog protein has a nearly identical predicted tertiary structure and can activate the frog and mouse LRs in vitro. We showed that recombinant frog leptin (rxLeptin) is a potent anorexigen in frogs, as it is in mammals, but this response does not develop until midprometamorphosis. However, during early prometamorphosis, exogenous rxLeptin induced growth and development of the hind limb, where LR mRNA is expressed. The rxLeptin also stimulated cell proliferation in cultured hind limbs from early prometamorphic tadpoles, as measured by [(3)H]thymidine uptake. These findings are evidence that leptin can influence limb growth and differentiation during early development. Furthermore, the isolation and characterization of leptin and its receptor in a nonamniote provides an essential foundation for elucidating the structural and functional evolution of this important hormone.

SUBMITTER: Crespi EJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1502511 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Leptin (ob gene) of the South African clawed frog Xenopus laevis.

Crespi Erica J EJ Denver Robert J RJ

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20060616 26

Leptin, the protein product of the obese (ob) gene, is a type-I cytokine hormone secreted by fat that is integral to food intake regulation and influences almost every physiological system in juvenile and adult mammals. Since the identification of leptin in the mouse in 1994, biologists have searched for orthologous genes in other species with limited success. In this article, we report the identification and functional characterization of leptin and leptin receptor (LR) in Xenopus. Despite low ...[more]

PMID: 16782821

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Project description:By altering or eliminating delicate ecological relationships, non-indigenous species are considered a major threat to biodiversity, as well as a driver of environmental change. Global climate change affects ecosystems and ecological communities, leading to changes in the phenology, geographic ranges, or population abundance of several species. Thus, predicting the impacts of global climate change on the current and future distribution of invasive species is an important subject in macroecological studies. The African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), native to South Africa, possesses a strong invasion potential and populations have become established in numerous countries across four continents. The global invasion potential of X. laevis was assessed using correlative species distribution models (SDMs). SDMs were computed based on a comprehensive set of occurrence records covering South Africa, North America, South America and Europe and a set of nine environmental predictors. Models were built using both a maximum entropy model and an ensemble approach integrating eight algorithms. The future occurrence probabilities for X. laevis were subsequently computed using bioclimatic variables for 2070 following four different IPCC scenarios. Despite minor differences between the statistical approaches, both SDMs predict the future potential distribution of X. laevis, on a global scale, to decrease across all climate change scenarios. On a continental scale, both SDMs predict decreasing potential distributions in the species' native range in South Africa, as well as in the invaded areas in North and South America, and in Australia where the species has not been introduced. In contrast, both SDMs predict the potential range size to expand in Europe. Our results suggest that all probability classes will be equally affected by climate change. New regional conditions may promote new invasions or the spread of established invasive populations, especially in France and Great Britain.

Dataset Information

Leptin (ob gene) of the South African clawed frog Xenopus laevis.

Publications

Leptin (ob gene) of the South African clawed frog Xenopus laevis.

Similar Datasets

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