Differential expression of duplicated genes for prothymosin alpha during zebrafish development

We show that ptma, a single copy gene found in all organisms investigated so far, is duplicated in zebrafish. The two genes, ptmaa and ptmab, are individually controlled as indicated by their different expression patterns during embryonic development. Only the ptmab transcript is observed at 4 and 8 hpf of development in all embryonic cells, whereas both genes are expressed at later stages as revealed by in situ hybridization studies. In most cases, the two genes are expressed in the same territories, but only the ptmaa transcript was found in the trigeminal ganglion and in endodermal pouches. In the eye, at 72 hpf, the ptmaa and ptmab transcripts were found in amacrine cells, whereas only the ptmab transcript appeared in horizontal cells. The existence of two prothymosin genes indicates that their function in cell proliferation and differentiation is more complex in fishes than in mammals.