Cloning and expression pattern of akirin2 gene in broiler.

Akirin2 is an important nuclear factor which plays functions in innate immune response, myogenesis, muscle development, and carcinogenesis. In this study, akirin2 genes were cloned from 4-day-old Sanhuang and AA(+) broiler, and its expression patterns were analyzed by RT-PCR. The results showed that there were four SNPs in the 5'-terminal region of akirin2 coding sequences. Expression profile analysis showed that the akirin2 transcripts were constitutively expressed in 15 tissues tested, and similar expression patterns were found between the two breeds of broilers. In addition, one of the interesting findings was that the akirin2 gene is highly expressed in blood and lowly expressed in heart, respectively. These data can serve as a foundation for further studying functions of akirin2 gene.