Isolation and Identification of Binglangjiang Buffalo FSHR Gene and Preliminary Analysis on Its Function

Purposes In order to reveal the structure and fuction of Binglangjiang buffalo FSHR gene.

Methods The whole coding sequence (CDS) of the FSHR gene was cloned using RT-PCR method, and the physicochemical properties, structure and fuction of its coding product were analysed preliminarily based on the method of bioinformatics.

Results The completed CDS of Binglangjiang buffalo FSHR gene is 2 088 bp in length, encoding a peptide composed of 695 amino acid residues. The amino acid sequence alignments showed that identity is more than 89.4% between Binglangjiang buffalo and other mammals. Binglangjiang buffalo FSHR protein is a hydrophobic protein with one N-terminal signal peptide and seven transmembrane regions, located in cell membrane. This protein contains 7tmA_FSH-R, LRRNT, LRR and GnHR_trans conservative domains. The secondary structures of buffalo FSHR are mainly consist of alpha helix and random curl, occupied 41.73% and 38.71%, respectively. The buffalo FSHR probably function in the process of cell transport and binding (probability \geqslant 0.827).

Conclusions Binglangjiang buffalo FSHR belongs to the G protein coupled receptor family, which is synthesized in the cytoplasm and transfered to cell membrane. It is speculated that the buffalo FSHR activates G protein coupling mechanism by binding to FSH hormone, which in turn promotes the development and maturation of buffalo sperm and follicles.