EST-based Survey of Gene Expression in Seven Tissue Types from the Abalone Haliotis discus hannai

摘要

The analysis of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) is an efficient approach for gene discovery, expression profiling, and the development of resources for functional genomics. To analyze the transcriptome of the abalone Haliotis discus hannai, we conducted EST analysis using seven cDNA libraries made from gill, gut, hepatopancreas, skin, muscle, testis, and ovary. Redundant ESTs were assembled into overlapping contiguous sequences using the assembly program ICAtools. We found that the total 1,393 ESTs formed 135 clusters and 951 singletons, indicating that the overall redundancy of the library was 22. Of the 1,393 clones, BLAST identified 1,278 clones (91.7) as known genes; 115 clones (8.3) did not match any previously described gene. Based on the major functions of their encoded proteins, the identified clones were classified into 16 broad categories. Sequence analysis revealed the presence of microsatellite-containing genes that may be valuable for further gene mapping studies. This study contributes to the identification of numerous EST clones that can be applied to further clarifying the genetics and developmental biology of abalone.