Cloning of the genes for the pituitary glycoprotein hormone alpha and follicle-stimulating hormone beta subunits in the Japanese crested ibis, Nipponia nippon.

We have isolated a part of the gene for the pituitary glycoprotein hormone common alpha subunit (PGHalpha) and the whole gene for the follicle-stimulating hormone beta subunit (FSHbeta) in the Japanese crested ibis (Nipponia nippon), a critically endangered bird species in East Asia. The nucleotide sequence of a part of the PGHalpha gene (5026 bp) contained three exons holding the whole coding and 3' untranslated regions, but lacked a 5' untranslated region. Its exon-intron structure was similar to that in mammals, but different from that in teleosts in the location of the second intron. For the FSHbeta gene, the nucleotide sequence of 7633 bp was assembled from two phage clones. The exon-intron structure of three exons and two introns was similar to that observed in mammals and teleosts. In the putative promoter region of the ibis FSHbeta gene, a progesterone responsive element (PRE)-like sequence and two AP-1 responsive element-like sequences reported in the ovine FSHbeta gene were not conserved in complete form. The increased number of ATTTA motifs in the putative 3' untranslated region in comparison with those in Japanese quail and chicken FSHbeta cDNA suggested that more rapid degradation of FSHbeta mRNA occurs in this species. Deduced amino acid sequences of the ibis PGHalpha and FSHbeta showed high similarities with those of the corresponding subunits of other avian species. This is the first report on the genomic sequences of the PGHalpha and FSHbeta in an avian species.