Acyl Coenzyme A Oxidase Like Protein (ACOXL)

The ACOXL is an ideal candidate, as it is located approximately 50 kb 50 to the BIM gene in the mammalian genomes. The acyl-coenzyme A oxidase 1 (ACOX1) catalyzes the first, rate-limiting step in peroxisomal β-oxidation of medium to very long straight-chain fatty acids. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) acoxl was characterized and compared with homologs from other sequenced genomes, revealing a remarkable conservation of structure in the vertebrate lineage. Strictly conserved regions of the deduced proteins included acyl-CoA oxidase and FAD binding domains, as well as a COOH-terminal peroxisomal targeting signal. Whole mount in situ hybridization showed that zebrafish acoxl transcripts were diffusely distributed in early-stage embryonic cells, then discreetly expressed in the brain and widely present in the liver and intestine at later stages.