Molecular cloning and ontogenesis expression of fatty acid transport protein-1 in yellow-feathered broilers

Fatty acid transport protein-1 (FATP-1) is one of the important transporter proteins involved in fatty acid transmembrane transport and fat deposition. To study the relationship between FATP-1 mRNA expression and fat deposition, chicken (Gallus gallus) FATP-1 sequence was first cloned by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). Tissue samples of chest muscle, leg muscle, subcutaneous fat, and abdominal fat were collected from six male and six female broilers each, at 22 days, 29 days, and 42 days, respectively. The tissue specificity and ontogenesis expression pattern of the FATP-1 mRNA of yellow-feathered broilers was studied by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), and the fat deposition laws in different tissues were also compared. A 2,488 bp cDNA sequence of chicken FATP-1 was cloned by RACE (GenBank accession no. DQ352834), including 547 bp 3' end untranslated region (URT) and 1,941 bp open reading frame (ORF). Chicken FATP-1 encoded 646 amino acid residues, which shared 83.9% and 83.0% identity with those of human and rat, respectively. The results of quantitative PCR demonstrated a constant FATP-1 mRNA expression level in the chest muscle and subcutaneous fat of both male and female broilers at three stages, whereas the expression level of the FATP-1 mRNA in the leg muscle at 42 days was significantly higher than that at 22 days or 29 days. In the abdominal fat of male broilers, the gene expression significantly increased with age, whereas the female broilers showed a dramatic downregulation of FATP-1 expression in abdominal fat at 42 days. This suggested a typical tissue- and gender-specific expression pattern of chicken FATP-1, mediating the specific process of fatty acid transport or utilization in muscle and adipose tissues.