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Cao J. Functional Divergence of the N-Lobe and C-Lobe of Transferrin Gene in Pungitius sinensis (Amur Stickleback). Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12243458. [PMID: 36552378 PMCID: PMC9774405 DOI: 10.3390/ani12243458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2022] [Revised: 12/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Transferrin is an important iron-binding glycosylated protein and plays key roles in iron-binding and immune response. Here, a 2037-bp open reading frame was obtained from our previous transcriptome sequencing data of Amur stickleback, which encoded a 679 amino acid putative transferrin protein harbored obvious N-lobe and C-lobe domains. The tissue-specific expression pattern showed that the transcript was detected in a variety of tissues, with the highest signal in liver. Moreover, Streptococcus iniae pathogen stimulation can increase the expression level of this transcript, implying important immune properties for organisms. Next, N-lobes and C-lobes were obtained from 45 fish species. The phylogenetic tree showed that N-lobes and C-lobes were in two different evolutionary branches, and they had different motif composition. Functional divergence indicated a higher evolutionary rate or site-specific alteration among the N-lobe and C-lobe groups. Ka/Ks value of C-lobe group was relatively higher than that of N-lobe group, indicating a faster change rate of C-lobe sequences in evolution. Moreover, some sites experiencing positive selection were also found, which may be involved in the iron- or anion-binding, pathogen resistance and diversification of transferrin protein. Differential iron-binding activity was also detected between N-lobe and C-lobe of Amur stickleback transferrin protein with Chrome Azurol S assay. Compared with the C-lobe, the N-lobe showed stronger growth inhibitory activity of Escherichia coli, implying their potential antibacterial properties. This study will give a reference for subsequent research of transferrin proteins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Cao
- School of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China
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Liu X, Li W, Ye Z, Zhu Y, Hong X, Zhu X. Morphological characterization and phylogenetic relationships of Indochinese box turtles-The Cuora galbinifrons complex. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:13030-13042. [PMID: 31871627 PMCID: PMC6912918 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2019] [Revised: 08/10/2019] [Accepted: 09/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
The members of the Indochinese box turtle complex, namely Cuora galbinifrons, Cuora bourreti, and Cuora picturata, rank the most critically endangered turtle species on earth after more than three decades of over-harvesting for food, traditional Chinese medicine, and pet markets. Despite advances in molecular biology, species boundaries and phylogenetic relationships, the status of the C. galbinifrons complex remains unresolved due to the small number of specimens observed and collected in the field. In this study, we present analyses of morphologic characters as well as mitochondrial and nuclear DNA data to reconstruct the species boundaries and systematic relationships within the C. galbinifrons complex. Based on principal component analysis (PCA) and statistical analysis, we found that phenotypic traits partially overlapped among galbinifrons, bourreti, and picturata, and that galbinifrons and bourreti might be only subspecifically distinct. Moreover, we used the mitochondrial genome, COI, and nuclear gene Rag1 under the maximum likelihood criteria and Bayesian inference criteria to elucidate whether C. galbinifrons could be divided into three separate species or subspecies. We found strong support for a sister relationship between picturata and the other two species, and consequently, we recommend maintaining picturata as a full species, and classifying bourreti and galbinifrons as subspecies of C. galbinifrons. These findings provide evidence for a better understanding of the evolutionary histories of these critically endangered turtles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoli Liu
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic GenomicsMinistry of AgricultureKey Laboratory of Tropical & Subtropical Fishery Resource Application & Cultivation of Ministry of AgriculturePearl River Fisheries Research InstituteChinese Academy of Fishery SciencesGuangzhouChina
| | - Wei Li
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic GenomicsMinistry of AgricultureKey Laboratory of Tropical & Subtropical Fishery Resource Application & Cultivation of Ministry of AgriculturePearl River Fisheries Research InstituteChinese Academy of Fishery SciencesGuangzhouChina
| | - Zhaoyang Ye
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic GenomicsMinistry of AgricultureKey Laboratory of Tropical & Subtropical Fishery Resource Application & Cultivation of Ministry of AgriculturePearl River Fisheries Research InstituteChinese Academy of Fishery SciencesGuangzhouChina
- College of Life Science and FisheriesShanghai Ocean UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Yanyu Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic GenomicsMinistry of AgricultureKey Laboratory of Tropical & Subtropical Fishery Resource Application & Cultivation of Ministry of AgriculturePearl River Fisheries Research InstituteChinese Academy of Fishery SciencesGuangzhouChina
- College of Life Science and FisheriesShanghai Ocean UniversityShanghaiChina
| | - Xiaoyou Hong
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic GenomicsMinistry of AgricultureKey Laboratory of Tropical & Subtropical Fishery Resource Application & Cultivation of Ministry of AgriculturePearl River Fisheries Research InstituteChinese Academy of Fishery SciencesGuangzhouChina
| | - Xinping Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Aquatic GenomicsMinistry of AgricultureKey Laboratory of Tropical & Subtropical Fishery Resource Application & Cultivation of Ministry of AgriculturePearl River Fisheries Research InstituteChinese Academy of Fishery SciencesGuangzhouChina
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Hernández-Pasos J, Valentín-Tirado G, García-Arrarás JE. Melanotransferrin: New Homolog Genes and Their Differential Expression during Intestinal Regeneration in the Sea Cucumber Holothuria glaberrima. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B-MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2017; 328:259-274. [PMID: 28229527 DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.22731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2016] [Revised: 12/15/2016] [Accepted: 01/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Melanotransferrin (MTf) is a protein associated with oncogenetic, developmental, and immune processes which function remains unclear. The MTf gene has been reported in numerous vertebrate and invertebrate species, including echinoderms. We now report the finding of four different MTfs in the transcriptome of the sea cucumber Holothuria glaberrima. Sequence studies and phylogenetic analyses were done to ascertain the similarities among the putative proteins and their relationship with other transferrin family members. The genes were shown to be differentially expressed in various holothurian organs and to respond differently when the animals were challenged with the immune system activator lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Moreover, the four genes were found to be highly overexpressed during the early stages of intestinal regeneration. The finding of four different genes in the holothurian is particularly surprising, because only one MTf gene has been reported in all other animal species sequenced to date. This finding, combined with the increase expression during intestinal regeneration, suggests a new possible function of MTf in organ regenerative processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josué Hernández-Pasos
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico.,School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
| | | | - José E García-Arrarás
- Department of Biology, University of Puerto Rico-Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
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Transferrin: Endocytosis and Cell Signaling in Parasitic Protozoa. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2015; 2015:641392. [PMID: 26090431 PMCID: PMC4450279 DOI: 10.1155/2015/641392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2014] [Accepted: 12/18/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Iron is the fourth most abundant element on Earth and the most abundant metal in the human body. This element is crucial for life because almost all organisms need iron for several biological activities. This is the case with pathogenic organisms, which are at the vanguard in the battle with the human host for iron. The latest regulates Fe concentration through several iron-containing proteins, such as transferrin. The transferrin receptor transports iron to each cell that needs it and maintains it away from pathogens. Parasites have developed several strategies to obtain iron as the expression of specific transferrin receptors localized on plasma membrane, internalized through endocytosis. Signal transduction pathways related to the activation of the receptor have functional importance in proliferation. The study of transferrin receptors and other proteins with action in the signaling networks is important because these proteins could be used as therapeutic targets due to their specificity or to differences with the human counterpart. In this work, we describe proteins that participate in signal transduction processes, especially those that involve transferrin endocytosis, and we compare these processes with those found in T. brucei, T. cruzi, Leishmania spp., and E. histolytica parasites.
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Andersen Ø, De Rosa MC, Yadav P, Pirolli D, Fernandes JMO, Berg PR, Jentoft S, Andrè C. The conserved Phe GH5 of importance for hemoglobin intersubunit contact is mutated in gadoid fish. BMC Evol Biol 2014; 14:54. [PMID: 24655798 PMCID: PMC3998052 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-14-54] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2013] [Accepted: 03/06/2014] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Functionality of the tetrameric hemoglobin molecule seems to be determined by a few amino acids located in key positions. Oxygen binding encompasses structural changes at the interfaces between the α1β2 and α2β1 dimers, but also subunit interactions are important for the oxygen binding affinity and stability. The latter packing contacts include the conserved Arg B12 interacting with Phe GH5, which is replaced by Leu and Tyr in the αA and αD chains, respectively, of birds and reptiles. Results Searching all known hemoglobins from a variety of gnathostome species (jawed vertebrates) revealed the almost invariant Arg B12 coded by the AGG triplet positioned at an exon-intron boundary. Rare substitutions of Arg B12 in the gnathostome β globins were found in pig, tree shrew and scaled reptiles. Phe GH5 is also highly conserved in the β globins, except for the Leu replacement in the β1 globin of five marine gadoid species, gilthead seabream and the Comoran coelacanth, while Cys and Ile were found in burbot and yellow croaker, respectively. Atlantic cod β1 globin showed a Leu/Met polymorphism at position GH5 dominated by the Met variant in northwest-Atlantic populations that was rarely found in northeast-Atlantic cod. Site-specific analyses identified six consensus codons under positive selection, including 122β(GH5), indicating that the amino acid changes identified at this position may offer an adaptive advantage. In fact, computational mutation analysis showed that the replacement of Phe GH5 with Leu or Cys decreased the number of van der Waals contacts essentially in the deoxy form that probably causes a slight increase in the oxygen binding affinity. Conclusions The almost invariant Arg B12 and the AGG codon seem to be important for the packing contacts and pre-mRNA processing, respectively, but the rare mutations identified might be beneficial. The Leu122β1(GH5)Met and Met55β1(D6)Val polymorphisms in Atlantic cod hemoglobin modify the intradimer contacts B12-GH5 and H2-D6, while amino acid replacements at these positions in avian hemoglobin seem to be evolutionary adaptive in air-breathing vertebrates. The results support the theory that adaptive changes in hemoglobin functions are caused by a few substitutions at key positions.
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Milano I, Babbucci M, Cariani A, Atanassova M, Bekkevold D, Carvalho GR, Espiñeira M, Fiorentino F, Garofalo G, Geffen AJ, Hansen JH, Helyar SJ, Nielsen EE, Ogden R, Patarnello T, Stagioni M, Tinti F, Bargelloni L. Outlier SNP markers reveal fine-scale genetic structuring across European hake populations (Merluccius merluccius). Mol Ecol 2013; 23:118-35. [DOI: 10.1111/mec.12568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 148] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2013] [Revised: 10/14/2013] [Accepted: 10/16/2013] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Milano
- Department of Biological; Geological and Environmental Sciences; University of Bologna; via Selmi 3 40126 Bologna Italy
| | - Massimiliano Babbucci
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science-Agripolis-Viale dell'Università 16; I-35020 Legnaro Padova Italy
| | - Alessia Cariani
- Department of Biological; Geological and Environmental Sciences; University of Bologna; via Selmi 3 40126 Bologna Italy
| | - Miroslava Atanassova
- Living Resources, Aquaculture and Management of their Traceability Division of ANFACO-CECOPESCA; Ctra. Colegio Universitario 16; 36.310 Vigo Spain
| | - Dorte Bekkevold
- National Institute of Aquatic Resources; Technical University of Denmark; Vejlsøvej 39 DK-8600 Silkeborg Denmark
| | - Gary R. Carvalho
- Molecular Ecology and Fisheries Genetics Laboratory; School of Biological Sciences; Bangor University; Environment Centre Wales; Bangor UK
| | - Montserrat Espiñeira
- Living Resources, Aquaculture and Management of their Traceability Division of ANFACO-CECOPESCA; Ctra. Colegio Universitario 16; 36.310 Vigo Spain
| | - Fabio Fiorentino
- National Research Council (CNR)-Institute for Coastal Marine Environment (IAMC); Via L. Vaccara 61 91026 Mazara del Vallo Trapani Italy
| | - Germana Garofalo
- National Research Council (CNR)-Institute for Coastal Marine Environment (IAMC); Via L. Vaccara 61 91026 Mazara del Vallo Trapani Italy
| | - Audrey J. Geffen
- Department of Biology; University of Bergen; P.O. Box 7803, N-5020 Bergen Norway
| | - Jakob. H. Hansen
- Living Resources, Aquaculture and Management of their Traceability Division of ANFACO-CECOPESCA; Ctra. Colegio Universitario 16; 36.310 Vigo Spain
| | - Sarah J. Helyar
- Food Safety, Environment & Genetics; Matís ohf, Vínlandsleið 12; 113 Reykjavík Iceland
| | - Einar E. Nielsen
- National Institute of Aquatic Resources; Technical University of Denmark; Vejlsøvej 39 DK-8600 Silkeborg Denmark
| | - Rob Ogden
- TRACE Wildlife Forensics Network; Royal Zoological Society of Scotland; Edinburgh EH12 6TS UK
| | - Tomaso Patarnello
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science-Agripolis-Viale dell'Università 16; I-35020 Legnaro Padova Italy
| | - Marco Stagioni
- Department of Biological; Geological and Environmental Sciences; University of Bologna; via Selmi 3 40126 Bologna Italy
| | - Fausto Tinti
- Department of Biological; Geological and Environmental Sciences; University of Bologna; via Selmi 3 40126 Bologna Italy
| | - Luca Bargelloni
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science-Agripolis-Viale dell'Università 16; I-35020 Legnaro Padova Italy
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Xu Q, Feng CY, Hori TS, Plouffe DA, Buchanan JT, Rise ML. Family-specific differences in growth rate and hepatic gene expression in juvenile triploid growth hormone (GH) transgenic Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). COMPARATIVE BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY D-GENOMICS & PROTEOMICS 2013; 8:317-33. [PMID: 24145116 DOI: 10.1016/j.cbd.2013.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2013] [Revised: 09/24/2013] [Accepted: 09/26/2013] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Growth hormone transgenic (GHTg) Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) have enhanced growth when compared to their non-transgenic counterparts, and this trait can be beneficial for aquaculture production. Biological confinement of GHTg Atlantic salmon may be achieved through the induction of triploidy (3N). The growth rates of triploid GH transgenic (3NGHTg) Atlantic salmon juveniles were found to significantly vary between families in the AquaBounty breeding program. In order to characterize gene expression associated with enhanced growth in juvenile 3NGHTg Atlantic salmon, a functional genomics approach (32K cDNA microarray hybridizations followed by QPCR) was used to identify and validate liver transcripts that were differentially expressed between two fast-growing 3NGHTg Atlantic salmon families (AS11, AS26) and a slow-growing 3NGHTg Atlantic salmon family (AS25); juvenile growth rate was evaluated over a 45-day period. Of 687 microarray-identified differentially expressed features, 143 (116 more highly expressed in fast-growing and 27 more highly expressed in slow-growing juveniles) were identified in the AS11 vs. AS25 microarray study, while 544 (442 more highly expressed in fast-growing and 102 more highly expressed in slow-growing juveniles) were identified in the AS26 vs. AS25 microarray study. Forty microarray features (39 putatively associated with fast growth and 1 putatively associated with slow growth) were present in both microarray experiment gene lists. The expression levels of 15 microarray-identified transcripts were studied using QPCR with individual RNA samples to validate microarray results and to study biological variability of transcript expression. The QPCR results agreed with the microarray results for 12 of 13 putative fast-growth associated transcripts, but QPCR did not validate the microarray results for 2 putative slow-growth associated transcripts. Many of the 39 microarray-identified genes putatively associated at the transcript expression level with fast-growing 3NGHTg salmon juveniles (including APOA1, APOA4, B2M, FADSD6, FTM, and GAPDH) are involved in metabolism, iron homeostasis and oxygen transport, and immune- or stress-related responses. The results of this study increase our knowledge of family-specific impacts on growth rate and hepatic gene expression in juvenile 3NGHTg Atlantic salmon. In addition, this study provides a suite of putative rapid growth rate-associated transcripts that may contribute to the development of molecular markers [e.g. intronic, exonic or regulatory region single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)] for the selection of GHTg Atlantic salmon broodstock that can be utilized to produce sterile triploids of desired growth performance for future commercial applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingheng Xu
- Ocean Sciences Centre, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL A1C 5S7, Canada
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Mohd-Padil H, Mohd-Adnan A, Gabaldón T. Phylogenetic analyses uncover a novel clade of transferrin in nonmammalian vertebrates. Mol Biol Evol 2012; 30:894-905. [PMID: 23258311 PMCID: PMC3603312 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/mss325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Transferrin is a protein super-family involved in iron transport, a central process in cellular homeostasis. Throughout the evolution of vertebrates, transferrin members have diversified into distinct subfamilies including serotransferrin, ovotransferrin, lactoferrin, melanotransferrin, the inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase, pacifastin, and the major yolk protein in sea urchin. Previous phylogenetic analyses have established the branching order of the diverse transferrin subfamilies but were mostly focused on the transferrin repertoire present in mammals. Here, we conduct a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of transferrin protein sequences in sequenced vertebrates, placing a special focus on the less-studied nonmammalian vertebrates. Our analyses uncover a novel transferrin clade present across fish, sauropsid, and amphibian genomes but strikingly absent from mammals. Our reconstructed scenario implies that this novel class emerged through a duplication event at the vertebrate ancestor, and that it was subsequently lost in the lineage leading to mammals. We detect footprints of accelerated evolution following the duplication event, which suggest positive selection and early functional divergence of this novel clade. Interestingly, the loss of this novel class of transferrin in mammals coincided with the divergence by duplication of lactoferrin and serotransferrin in this lineage. Altogether, our results provide novel insights on the evolution of iron-binding proteins in the various vertebrate groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hirzahida Mohd-Padil
- School of Biosciences & Biotechnology, Faculty of Science Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, Malaysia
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García-Fernández C, Sánchez JA, Blanco G. Characterization of the gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) transferrin gene: genomic structure, constitutive expression and SNP variation. FISH & SHELLFISH IMMUNOLOGY 2011; 31:548-556. [PMID: 21782954 DOI: 10.1016/j.fsi.2011.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2011] [Revised: 07/01/2011] [Accepted: 07/02/2011] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Transferrin (Tf) is a multi-function protein with a central role in iron metabolism, and it is this function that is associated with a role in the innate immune system response. The clear link between Tf and immune defense mechanism lead to propose Tf as a candidate gene for disease resistance. In this study, genomic and cDNA sequences of Tf gene in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) (SaTf gene), were identified and characterized. SaTf gene structure consists of a coding region of 2076 nucleotides divided into 17 exons and a no-coding region that includes 16 introns and spans 5495 nucleotides. The deduced Tf protein for gilthead seabream is composed of 691 amino acids and consists of an initial peptide and two lobes (N- and C-lobes). This gene structure is similar to that of previously described Tf genes in other fish species. RT-PCR analyses carried out in different tissues and two developmental stages showed tissue-and stage-specific Tf expression in gilthead seabream. Finally, by sequencing the transferrin genomic sequences of 20 unrelated seabreams, 31 SNPs were identified. These data allowed the estimation of the frequency of nucleotide substitution in the SaTf gene as 1SNP per 253 bp. SNPs were detected in different regions of the genomic sequence but they were mainly localized in non-coding regions, specifically, SNP frequency in non-coding regions was fifteen-fold higher than within coding regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carmen García-Fernández
- Laboratorio de Genética Acuícola, Departamento de Biología Funcional, Universidad de Oviedo, IUBA, 33071 Oviedo, Spain
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