nanor, a novel zygotic gene, is expressed initially at the midblastula transition in zebrafish

A novel, developmentally regulated gene, nanor, was identified by suppression subtractive hybridization. It is first expressed following the midblastula transition (MBT), a critical developmental stage in the early vertebrate embryo when the zygotic genome is activated. The nanor cDNA (626 bp) includes a complete open reading frame but neither the gene nor the deduced amino acid sequence shows significant similarity to any known gene or protein. Nanor encodes a 175 amino acid putative protein with a protein kinase C and three casein kinase II phosphorylation sites, an N-myristoylation site and an NFX-type zinc-finger domain, indicating a potential role in transcriptional regulation. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR, Northern blot, and in situ hybridization analysis revealed that nanor expression is developmentally regulated. It is initially expressed after the MBT at the sphere stage and during epiboly it is expressed in the forerunner cells. At 24 h post-fertilization, expression is solely anterior.