Molecular cloning, expression and polymorphism of goose <i>LRP8</i> gene

1. The low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 8 (LRP8), a member of the low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) gene family, participates in the supplying of lipid during follicular development. The objective of the study was to identify and characterise the <i>LRP8</i> gene in goose.2. A 2867 bp fragment that covered the complete coding region (CDS) of goose (<i>Anser cygnoides</i>) <i>LRP8</i> gene was cloned. It encoded a protein of 917 amino acid residues containing a 24-amino acid signal peptide and 5 functional domains. The goose LRP8 showed high nucleic acid and amino acid identities with those in other species.3. Similarly to duck <i>LRP8</i> gene, two splice variants of LRP8, LRP8-1 (containing 8 ligand-binding repeats) and LRP8-2 (containing 7 ligand-binding repeats), were identified in goose.4. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis indicates that the <i>LRP8-1</i> transcript is expressed in heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, breast muscle, duodenum, hypothalamus, pituitary and ovary, negligible or absent in sebum and oviduct, and the <i>LRP8-2</i> transcript is widely expressed in all examined tissues.5. A total of 7 SNPs were identified in the coding region of the goose <i>LRP8</i> gene.