| dAlthough prolactin has been demonstrated to be the main hormone involved in adaptation to dilute media in several freshwater teleosts, few studies have been conducted in marine teleosts. In the Mediterranean, the sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax inhabits environments ranging from the open sea to coastal lagoons, where salinity varies greatly. We characterised the prolactin (prl) gene and analysed its expression in two organs (gill and intestine) in D. labrax acclimated to either freshwater or seawater. A 2819 bp long sequence encompassing the prl gene and a part (282 bp) of the promoter were identified, and these comprised 5 coding exons separated by 4 introns. Prolactin was similarly expressed in fresh- and seawater adapted fish, although expression in... |
