Mesotocin gene expression in the diencephalon of domestic fowl: Cloning and sequencing of the MT cDNA and distribution of MT gene expressing neurons in the chicken hypothalamus

Abstract

This study focuses on the structure and expression of the mesotocin (MT) gene in the chicken hypothalamus. Using an anchored and nested RT-PCR strategy, combined with circular RACE-PCR, the full length sequence of the chicken MT cDNA was obtained. The cDNA and derived amino acid sequences conformed to the structure of the oxytocin-like gene family. However, unlike most mammalian species, there does not appear to be frequent gene conversion between the MT and AVT cDNA sequences. A single specific hybridization signal of 1.2 kb was detected by Southern analysis of chicken genomic DNA, indicating only a single gene copy in the chicken genome. Northern analysis of hypothalamic RNA revealed a sin..