The noggin2 gene of Gekko japonicus (Gekkonidae) is down-regulated in the spinal cord after tail amputation

[Molecular cloning of tubulin beta 3 (TUBB3) in Gekko japonicus and preparation of its polyclonal antibody]

The tubulin beta III (TUBB3) gene encodes a class III member of the beta tubulin protein family that is primarily expressed in neurons and is considered to play a critical role in proper axon guidance and maintenance. This protein is generally used as a specific marker of neurons in the central nervous system. We obtained the full length cDNA sequence of TUBB3 by using the RACE method based on the EST fragment from the brain and spinal cord cDNA library of Gekko japonicus. We further investigated the multi-tissue expression pattern by RT-PCR and identified one transcript of TUBB3 about 1.8 kb in the central nervous system of Gekko japonicus by Northern blotting. The completed cDNA of gecko TUBB3 is 1 790 bp with an open reading frame of 1 350 bp, encoding a 450 amino-acid protein. The recombinant plasmid of pET-32a-TUBB3 was constructed and induced to express His-tagged TUBB3 protein in prokaryotic BL21 cells. The purified TUBB3 protein was then used to immunize rabbits to generate polyclonal antisera. The titer of the antiserum was more than 1:65 536 determined by ELISA. The result of western blotting showed that the TUBB3 antibody could specifically recognize the recombinant TUBB3 protein and endogenous TUBB3 protein. Our findings provide the tools to further understand the TUBB3 gene and investigate the regeneration of the central nervous system in Gekko japonicas.