1. Alternative splicing and tissue expression of CIB4 gene in sheep testis
- Author
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Yu, Yan, Zhang, Yuan, Song, Xuemei, Jin, Mei, Guan, Qun, Zhang, Qiyao, Li, Shangang, Wei, Caihong, Lu, Guobin, Zhang, Ju, Ren, Hangxing, Sheng, Xihui, Wang, Chuduan, and Du, Lixin
- Subjects
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RNA splicing , *GENE expression , *TESTIS , *COMPLEMENTARY DNA , *POLYMERASE chain reaction , *MOLECULAR cloning , *AMINO acid sequence , *SHEEP breeds - Abstract
Abstract: In this study, the sheep CIB4 cDNA was cloned from the small tail Han sheep by RT-PCR and RACE (rapid amplification of cDNA ends), and CIB4 cDNA and amino acid sequence were analyzed. Our results showed that the sheep CIB4 gene expressed two alternatively spliced variants L-CIB4 (long CIB4) and S-CIB4 (short CIB4). Sequence analysis indicated that the sheep CIB4 cDNA cloned (L-CIB4) was 745-bp in length (GenBank accession number: FJ039532) with 185 amino acids residues. The sheep CIB4 cDNA showed more than 72% of sequence identity, at the nucleotide level, to its equivalents in cattle, horse, chimpanzee, humans, mice and rats, while at the deduced protein level, the value increased to 79.6%. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR using total RNA from different tissues showed that CIB4 has a strong tissue-specific expression pattern in sheep. L-CIB4 expression level was shown to be no different in small tail Han sheep and the Dorset ram, but both were significantly different from the Texel (P <0.05). Surprisingly, the short spliced form, S-CIB4, could only be detected in small tail Han sheep, suggesting that CIB4 may be linked in some way to the high fecundity of this breed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]
- Published
- 2010
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