A zebrafish vitellogenin gene (vg3) encodes a novel vitellogenin without a phosvitin domain and may represent a primitive vertebrate vitellogenin gene

Multiple piscine vitellogenins: biomarkers of fish exposure to estrogenic endocrine disruptors in aquatic environments

“…It appears that, in general, members of higher teleost taxa (Paracanthopterygii and Acanthopterygii) express both "complete" types of Vg (VgA and VgB). Moreover, the "incomplete", phosvitin-less, form of Vg seems to be widely present among teleosts, supporting the concept that the protein ancestral to both invertebrate and vertebrate Vg was a phosvitin-less VgC, as previously proposed by Wang et al (2000).…”

“…Vitellogenin multiplicity may extend beyond the major (A-C) groups but the physiological significance of this phenomenon is uncertain. At least seven distinct functional Vg genes appear to exist in zebrafish (Wang et al, 2000), although differences in the functions or immunological properties of these gene products are unknown. For rainbow trout, Trichet et al (2000) revealed twenty complete Vg genes and ten pseudogenes per haploid genome, although these genes differed from one another by less than 3% at the nucleotide level and likely produce indistinguishable protein products.…”

Vitellogenesis and choriogenesis in fishes

“…Among fishes, a gene encoding a special form of Vtg lacking the Pv region (phosvitinless Vtg, Pv-less Vtg) was first discovered in zebrafish Danio rerio [83]. In addition, genomic analysis of rainbow trout [84] revealed the presence of 20 active genes for Vtg as well as ten pseudogenes.…”

An Oligonucleotide Fingerprint Normalized and Expressed Sequence Tag Characterized Zebrafish cDNA Library

“…Polymorphisms and alternative splicing may account for the large number of vitellogenin ESTs from library MPMGp609. At least seven vitellogenin genes have been reported in zebrafish (Wang et al 2000); most are long (at least 4 kb) and several appear to produce a number of splice variants. In addition, six of the seven vitellogenin genes contain a serine-rich phosphovitin region rich in single-nucleotide polymorphisms.…”