Identification and expression study of a Xenopus homologue of prenylated SNARE gene

We have utilized the differential display PCR method to isolate transcripts expressed during early embryogenesis of Xenopus laevis. Among many transcripts that have been found to be expressed differentially during the development, one transcript which was expressed predominantly in the unfertilized egg, was isolated as a full-length cDNA and the sequence was determined. This cDNA contained a predicted size of 198 amino acids. A search of the GenBank database revealed that the predicted amino acid sequence of the cDNA is highly homologous - 87.8% identical - to the recently identified human protein, HsYKT6, a prenylated vesicle associated-SNARE ((soluble NSF (N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein) attachment protein receptor)). Thus we have named the gene as Xsnare1. RT-PCR analysis showed that the Xsnare1 mRNA expressed throughout the oogenesis, in egg and in the early phase of embryogenesis and the level of expression declined after gastrulation. These results suggest that the Xsnare1, a maternally active, putative Xenopus homologue of prenylated v-SNARE, is a developmentally regulatory gene and may be play a role in the process of the early development of Xenopus laevis.