Growth/differentiation factor-11: an evolutionary conserved growth factor in vertebrates

Growth and differentiation factor-11 (GDF-11) is a member of the transforming growth factor-β superfamily and is thought to be derived together with myostatin (known also as GDF-8) from an ancestral gene. In the present study, we report the isolation and characterization of GDF-11 homolog from a marine teleost, the gilthead sea bream Sparus aurata, and show that this growth factor is highly conserved throughout vertebrates. Using bioinformatics, we identified GDF-11 in Tetraodon, Takifugu, medaka, and stickleback and found that they are highly conserved at the amino acid sequence as well as gene organization. Moreover, we found conservation of syntenic relationships among vertebrates in the GDF-11 locus. Transcripts for GDF-11 can be found in eggs and early embryos, albeit at low levels, while in post-hatching larvae expression levels are high and decreases as development progresses, suggesting that GDF-11 might have a role during early development of fish as found in tetrapods and zebrafish. Finally, GDF-11 is expressed in various tissues in the adult fish including muscle, brain, and eye.