Data from rats, cattle, mice, rabbits and humans indicate considerable species heterogeneity in the sequence of the gene coding for the mitochondrial uncoupling protein (UCP) in brown adipose tissue. A 27-base sequence of an exon region of the gene is, however, identical in rats and cattle; in mice, rabbits, and humans this same region shows only a single base difference from the sequence in rats and cattle. 2. A 27-mer oligonucleotide (3'-TGGAAGGGCGACCTGTGGCGGTTTCAG-5') complementary to the conserved region of the rat and cattle UCP genes has been synthesized as a potential probe for UCP mRNA in widely differing species. 3. Northern blots of RNA from rat brown fat showed that the oligonucleotide hybridized with a 1.5 kbase mRNA, indicative of UCP mRNA. No hybridization was observed with RNA from white fat (subcutaneous, internal), liver, kidney, skeletal muscle, heart and brain. Acute cold-exposure of rats and mice led to an increase in UCP mRNA level, while streptozotocin-induced diabetes resulted in a decrease. 4. The oligonucleotide hybridized with a 1.5 (or 1.9) kbase mRNA from brown fat of rats, mice, golden hamsters, Djungarian hamsters, and newborn rabbits, pipistrelle bats, lambs, goats and red deer. 5. The 27-mer oligonucleotide provides a simple probe for UCP mRNA across a wide range of mammals, obviating any need to obtain species-specific cDNAs.
