Cloning and Analysis of Interferon-β Gene in Asian Cat

[Objective] The aim of the research was to lay the foundation for studying the biological products of cats such as interferon(IFN).[Method] A pair of specific primers were designed according to the sequences of feline IFNβ gene on NCBI website.The genomic DNA extracted from the liver tissues of the diseased and dead cats was taken as template for PCR amplification.After being reclaimed,the amplified products were connected with pUCm-T vector and transformed into DH5α competent cells of Escherichia coli.After the obtained plasmid DNA was identified by PCR and double-enzyme digestion,the sequence analysis and the homology comparison of the nucleotides and amino acids were made.[Result] A specific band of 561 bp was obtained from PCR amplification.Feline IFN-β gene was successfully recombined into the vector and the positive clone was obtained.The results of sequence analysis showed that IFN-β gene of Asian cat was at the length of 561 bp and it encoded 186 amino acids.Its homology with the reported feline IFN-β gene reached 99.82 % and the sequences of amino acids didn't change.[Conclusion] This research successfully cloned feline IFN-β gene,and laid the foundation for further producing the recombinant feline IFN-β gene by gene engineering technology and studying its biological functions.