Characterization of the antifreeze peptide system of the Antarctic eel pout, Pachycara brachycephalum

achycara brachycephalum (suborder Zoarcoidei) produces essentially one antifreeze peptide (AFP) that is maintained at high serum levels. The AFP gene family of the species was characterized to elucidate the basis of its particularly homogeneous AFP complement, as compared with other zoarcoids. Six AFP genes were isolated from a genomic DNA library. Four of the genes are similar in sequence to other zoarcoid AFP genes, encode proteins similar to the predominant AFP (AB1) and are termed "classical" genes. The fifth AFP gene contains a 648-bp insertion with the 3;Few consistencies exist in the AFP genes' flanking regions. Neighboring genes are separated by at least five distances: 0.5, 0.7, 2.0, 10.5, and 11.7 kbp. This irregular AFP gene arrangement is similar to that of the Atlantic ocean pout Zoarces americanus, but is in sharp contrast to the...