Molecular evidence for multiple UDP-glucuronosyltransferase gene familes in fish.

The presence of multiple distinct UGT genes in fish was derived by analysis of DNA sequence data derived the zebrafish EST project, confirming indications from previous protein purification studies in another fish species, the plaice, for a diversity of isoforms in lower vertebrates. At least 10 different UGTs can be identified from nucleotide sequence data in zebrafish. Phylogenetic analysis of exon 1 sequences of the zebrafish, plaice and human UGTs indicates that six of these genes are related to the 1A, 1B and 2 families and that a further four genes were of more ancient lineage. Importantly data for the 3' sequences of the zebrafish clones, both from the database and our own sequences of the publicly available clones did not provide any evidence for elaboration of family 1A genes by alternative splicing in this lower vertebrate.