Molecular cloning and variant analysis of the TSHR gene in goose (Anser cygnoides)

ABSTRACT

1. The thyroid-stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR) is a glycoprotein hormone receptor which has a pivotal role in metabolic regulation and photoperiod control during reproduction in birds and mammals. However, the molecular characterisation of TSHR in goose is unknown.

2. The goose TSHR cDNA (TSHR-1) is 2334 bp in length and encodes a protein of 763 amino acids. This trial identified another three novel splice variants of goose TSHR, TSHR-2 (lacking the exon 3 in TSHR-1 transcript), TSHR-3 (lacking the exon 6 in the TSHR-1 transcript) and TSHR-4 (lacking 12 bp of exon 8 and the entire exon 9 in the TSHR-1 transcript).

3. Bioinformatics analysis indicated that all the deduced TSHR amino acid sequences contained seven putative transmembrane domains, and the TSHR-3 protein lacked one potential N-linked glycosylation site (N-E-S) compared to the other three deduced proteins.

4. A phylogenetic tree based on amino acid sequences showed that the goose TSHR protein was closely related to those of other avian species, especially duck and chickens.

5. One microsatellite and three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified. For the c1109A/G locus, AA and GA genotypes were found in the Zhedong-White goose population, GG and GA genotypes were detected in the Landes goose population, but the AA genotype was only detected in the other four goose populations.

6. All the information derived from this study can facilitate further studies on the functions of the goose TSHR gene.

KEYWORDS:

• TSHR
• cloning
• spliced variants
• SNPs
• genotypic distribution

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Professor Weihu Chen (Zhedong White Goose Institute of Xiangshan County), Hui Zhao (Liaoning Academy of Agricultural Sciences), Zhifeng Chen (Heilongjiang Animal Science Institute) and Zhenping Lin (Baisha Livestock Original Species Research institute of Shantou City) for providing the goose blood samples.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was financially supported by the Youth Talent Development Plan of Shanghai Municipal Agricultural System (Hunongqingzi (2018) No.1-21), the rural development in China: Resources cultivation, Innovation and its Utilisation of Waterfowl (Grant number 2015BAD03B06), the China Agricultural Research System (CARS-43), and the SAAS Program for Excellent Research Team (SPERT).