Novel nucleolar protein, midnolin, is expressed in the mesencephalon during mouse development

Using the gene trap method and the selection of embryonic stem cells in vitro, we have identified several novel genes involved in mouse development. The detailed analysis of one of these, named midnolin (midbrain nucleolar protein), is reported here. Expression of the midnolin gene is developmentally regulated: it is strongly expressed at the mesencephalon (midbrain) of the embryo in day 12.5 (E12.5) mice. The midnolin encodes a protein of 508 amino acids (aa), which contains a Ubiquitin-like domain. The intracellular distribution of the midnolin was studied by using midnolin-green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion proteins. Midnolin was found to be localized in the nucleus and nucleolus, but not in the cytoplasm. The nucleolar localization signal was determined to be a 28aa peptide (440-QQKRLRRKARRDARGPYHWTPSRKAGRS-467) located at the C-terminal region of the midnolin. Our results suggest that midnolin is involved in regulation of genes related to neurogenesis in the nucleolus.