Molecular Cloning, Characterization, and Expression of Sheep FGF5 Gene

January 2015 in “ Gene ”

Lihua Zhang, Shikun He, Mingjun Liu, Guosong Liu, Yanyan Zheng, Chenxi Liu, Xumei Zhang, Ning Zhang, Wenrong Li

FGF5 FGF5S fibroblast growth factor 5 wool follicle regulation mRNA splicing variants skin tissues

TLDR Researchers identified a new variant of the FGF5 gene in sheep that affects hair length.

In this study, researchers successfully cloned, sequenced, and characterized the full-length FGF5 cDNA from Chinese Merino sheep, revealing that the FGF5 gene spanned 21,743 bp of genomic DNA and consisted of 3 exons and 2 introns. They identified two mRNA splicing variants, FGF5 and FGF5S, with molecular weights of 34 kDa and 17 kDa, respectively. Expression analysis showed that FGF5S mRNA was restricted to the brain, spleen, and skin tissues. Additionally, 72 genetic variants of the FGF5 gene were discovered. These findings provided insights into the functions of the FGF5 gene in Chinese Merino sheep and its potential role in wool follicle regulation.

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Molecular Cloning, Characterization, and Expression of Sheep FGF5 Gene

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