Characterisation of 5 ' upstream and coding sequences of myostatin gene (MSTN) in Thai swamp buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

To characterise the 5' upstream and coding sequences of the myostatin gene (MSTN) in Thai swamp buffalo (Bubalus bubalis), polymerase chain reaction and direct DNA sequencing were performed. The sequences obtained were compared with those of other livestock animals. The study successfully characterised the 5' upstream and coding sequences of the Thai swamp buffalo MSTN gene. Both the common and muscle-specific transcription factor binding sites were observed in the 5' upstream region and the coding sequences in the Thai swamp buffalo were similar to those in cattle (Bos taurus). From the multiple alignment method, the coding sequence identity of the tested buffalo was 98, 94 and 81% as compared to cattle, pig and chicken respectively. Two variants (g.264C>T and g. 414G>A) located in exon 1 were also identified. Based on the obtained DNA sequences, the amino acid sequence identity of the tested buffalo was 98, 94 and 86% as compared to cattle, pig and chicken respectively. Thai swamp buffalo have 100% sequence identity of Arg-Ser-Arg- Arg (RSRR) aligned between the positions 263 and 266 of the amino acid sequence. These results indicate that the 5' upstream and the coding sequences of Thai swamp buffalo MSTN gene display a high similarity with other livestock animals, especially cattle.