College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
Poult Sci. 2011 May;90(5):1050-7. doi: 10.3382/ps.2010-01300.
Prolactin receptor (PRLR) is a single transmembrane protein through which prolactin plays a wide variety of physiological roles in vertebrates. To understand its role in goose behavior, we cloned the gene of goose PRLR (gPRLR) in the Siji goose, a domestic goose with strong broodiness in China, and examined its expression level in different organs of adult geese. Our results showed that gPRLR cDNA contained 443 bp 5' untranslated region, 2,496 bp coding sequence that presumably comprises at least 14 exons, and 220 bp 3' untranslated region. The predicted goose PRLR contained 831 amino acids and exhibited identities of 87.7, 85.2, and 84.8% with chicken, pigeon, and turkey PRLR, respectively. It comprised a signal peptide of 24 amino acids at the N terminus, 2 ligand binding regions of the extracellular domain, each containing 2 pairs of cysteine residues and a pentapeptide of 5 amino acids known as WS motif (Tpr-Ser-any amino acid-Tpr-Ser), the 2 typical features highly conserved in the members of class 1 cytokine receptor superfamily. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the goose PRLR is highly conserved during evolution. In addition, we discovered 2 other alternative splicing transcripts of gPRLR. One is generated by missing the last 95 bp of the first 330 bp of the 3,159 bp cDNA. The other is produced by an alternative transcription initiation, leading to creation of a novel first exon that is directly spliced to the third exon. Reverse transcription PCR analyses show that the gPRLR mRNA is widely expressed in the testis, seminal duct, ovary, oviduct, kidney, large intestine, and small intestine.
催乳素受体（PRLR）是一种单一的跨膜蛋白，通过它，催乳素在脊椎动物中发挥着广泛的生理作用。为了了解其在鹅行为中的作用，我们在我国具有强烈抱窝性的家鹅——四季鹅中克隆了鹅 PRLR（gPRLR）基因，并检测了其在成年鹅不同器官中的表达水平。结果显示，gPRLR cDNA 含有 443 bp 的 5'非翻译区、2496 bp 的编码序列，推测至少包含 14 个外显子，以及 220 bp 的 3'非翻译区。预测的鹅 PRLR 含有 831 个氨基酸，与鸡、鸽和火鸡 PRLR 的同源性分别为 87.7%、85.2%和 84.8%。它在 N 端包含 24 个氨基酸的信号肽、2 个包含 2 对半胱氨酸和 5 个氨基酸的 WS 基序（Tpr-Ser-任意氨基酸-Tpr-Ser）的细胞外结构域的配体结合区，该基序是 1 类细胞因子受体超家族成员高度保守的 2 个典型特征。系统进化分析表明，鹅 PRLR 在进化过程中高度保守。此外，我们还发现了 gPRLR 的另外 2 种选择性剪接转录本。一种是通过缺失 330 个碱基的第一个 330 个碱基的最后 95 个碱基而产生的。另一种是由另一种转录起始产生的，导致产生一个新的第一外显子，该外显子直接剪接到第三个外显子上。反转录 PCR 分析表明，gPRLR mRNA 广泛表达于睾丸、精管、卵巢、输卵管、肾脏、大肠和小肠。
