Structure of the genomic sequence comprising the immunoglobulin heavy constant (IGHC) genes from Sus scrofa.

The number of immunoglobulin heavy chain (IGH) constant genes (IGHC) varies among mammals. To annotate the porcine IGHC genes, we sequenced the entire IGHC-containing genomic region from a single porcine haplotype. The resulting contiguous sequence included in 5' the IGH diversity (D) gene cluster and in 3' TMEM121, which flank the IGHC cluster in the human genome, suggesting that we had obtained the entire genomic region containing porcine IGHC. This region was about 190-kb long, in good agreement with those of other mammals. The porcine IGHC cluster contained 10 genes, IGHM, IGHD, six IGHG genes, IGHE and IGHA. The porcine IGHG genes formed a cluster between IGHD and IGHE, with IGHG3 considered as the most ancient IGHG gene, located at the beginning of the IGHG cluster. Furthermore, the porcine sequence contained two IGHG5 and two IGHG6 genes, but no IGHG genes for IgG2 and IgG4, suggesting flexibility within the IGHG cluster. We also recorded structural differences in the switch regions of the IGHC genes that may be important in their transcription. This haplotype can serve as a reference for future studies on other haplotypes and for functional analysis of porcine immunoglobulin (IG) isotypes.