Purpose Lysozyme is an antibacterial enzyme produced by animals that forms part of the innate immune system. It also has digestive function in the abomasum of ruminants. Up to now, the lysozyme C gene family of cattle has been characterized at the molecular level deeply, but the studies on the lysozyme C gene in water buffalo are few.
Methods In this study, the sequences of Binglangjiang buffalo gastric lysozyme C gene were amplified and sequenced by using PCR product direct sequencing, then the sequences were assembled and the open reading frame was determined. Combined with published homologous sequences of other bovine species together, the data obtained was analyzed using bioinformatics method.
Results Sequence analysis revealed that the CDS of Binglangjiang buffalo gastric lysozyme C gene encodes a peptide of 147 amino acid residues which was presumed to have a 18 AA signal peptide at N-terminus signal peptide and a 129 AA mature peptide. The mature peptide with a deduced molecular weight of 14.41 ku and a PI of 6.32 is a hydrophilic protein without transmembrane domains and exert its function in the outside plasma membrane with high reliability. In addition, the mature peptide has a conserved domain of Alpha-lactalbumin/lysozyme C (19-145AA) which belongs to lysozyme-like superfamily, and its 3-D structure has 99.22% identical to the lysozyme template of cattle (2z2f.1.A). Phylogeny analysis based on the sequence of lysozyme C showed that water buffalo gather together with Bos taurus, Bos indicus, Bos mutus, Bison bison bison.
Conclusion The results of this study reveal that the stomach lysozyme of Binglangjiang buffalo has similar function to that of other bovine species.
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