G C A T T A C G G C A T genes Article Identification, Expression, and Functions of the Somatostatin Gene Family in Spotted Scat (Scatophagus argus) 1,2, 1,2,3, 1,2 1,2,3 Peizhe Feng y , Changxu Tian y , Xinghua Lin , Dongneng Jiang , Hongjuan Shi 1,2,3, Huapu Chen 1,2,3, Siping Deng 1,2,3, Chunhua Zhu 1,2,3 and Guangli Li 1,2,3,* 1 Fisheries College, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China;
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[email protected] (C.Z.) 2 Guangdong Research Center on Reproductive Control and Breeding Technology of Indigenous Valuable Fish Species, Zhanjiang 524088, China 3 Marine Ecology and Aquaculture Environment of Zhanjiang, Zhanjiang 524088, China * Correspondence:
[email protected]; Tel.: +86-75-92-383-124; Fax: +86-75-92-382-459 These authors contributed equally to this work. y Received: 28 October 2019; Accepted: 7 February 2020; Published: 12 February 2020 Abstract: Somatostatins (SSTs) are a family of proteins consisting of structurally diverse polypeptides that play important roles in the growth regulation in vertebrates. In the present study, four somatostatin genes (SST1, SST3, SST5, and SST6) were identified and characterized in the spotted scat (Scatophagus argus). The open reading frames (ORFs) of SST1, SST3, SST5, and SST6 cDNA consist of 372, 384, 321, and 333 bp, respectively, and encode proteins of 123, 127, 106, and 110 amino acids, respectively.