Cloning of Sheep Cell Death-inducing DFFA-like Effector c (CIDEC) cDNA and Its Differential Expression in Tail Fat Tissue of Altay Sheep (Ovis aries) in Persistent Starvation
Abstract：Cell death-inducing DFFA-like effector c (CIDEC) is related closly to adipose differentiation and promoting fat deposition. In this study, sheep (Ovis aires) CIDEC cDNA was cloned by PCR and analyzed by bioinformatics. Expression profiles of CIDEC in different tissues of sheep were detected by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. The expression levels of CIDEC in tail fat tissue after persistent starvation in Altay sheep was determined by Real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR). The result showed that the coding sequences (CDS) of sheep CIDEC gene was 714 bp and encoded 237 amino acids (GenBank accession No.KM199684). Bioinformatic analysis indicated that multiple phosphorylation and protein kinase C sites existed in the secondary structure of sheep CIDEC protein. The RT-PCR results confirmed that CIDEC mRNA expressed in adipose tissue only, and the expression level was much higher in tail fat than that in esenteric fat. After persistent starvation and fasting for 4 weeks, the expression of CIDEC in tail fat of Altay sheep decreased sharply, its level was very significantly lower than that in normal food-intake sheep (P＜0.01). Taken together, these results demonstrated that CIDEC might play an important role in the process of tail fat deposition. In conclusion, this work serves as the basis for further study on CIDEC in the tail fat of sheep.
