Cloning of a cDNA encoding ovine keratinocyte growth factor

A cDNA encoding the ovine keratinocyte growth factor (KGF) has been cloned. A 622-bp cDNA, containing the entire protein coding region, was amplified from an ovine adenocarcinoma fibroblast cell line. The cDNA was found to share 95% nucleotide identity with dog KGF, 94% identity with human KGF, 90% identity with mouse KGF and 88% identity with rat KGF. The predicted ovine amino-acid sequence shares 98.5, 98, 96 and 94% identity, respectively, with the corresponding dog, human, mouse and rat proteins. The KGF gene is present as a single copy in the ovine genome.