Molecular cloning and expression of Aven gene in chicken

Aven was originally identified as a protein that regulates apoptosis by binding to apoptotic regulators, Bcl-xL and Apaf-1. Recently was found that Aven protein is a potent activator of ATM, critical for its DNA damage-induced activation. An Aven cDNA clone was isolated from chicken (Gallus gallus) after screening of a cerebellum cDNA library. The full-length cDNA is 1,430 nt in size, encoding for a polypeptide of 352 amino acid residues. The predicted amino acid sequence of the chicken Aven is 69, 46, 45 and 37% identical to those of zebra finch, human, xenopus and zebrafish orthologs, respectively. Expression analysis reveals that the chicken Aven gene is expressed in the adult brain, heart, intestine, kidney, lung, stomach and spleen, as well as in the whole embryos of 4- and 6-days old. Phylogenetic analysis of the Aven ortholog proteins from various organisms clusters the chicken Aven in the same group with other bird Avens.