Molecular cloning and characterization of a highly conserved chicken cellular nucleic acid binding protein cDNA

A chicken cellular nucleic acid binding protein (cCNBP) cDNA was isolated from a chicken Con-A-stimulated immune cell library by differential screening. cCNBP is a Cys/Cys-His/Cys zinc finger DNA binding protein of unknown function. The chicken CNBP nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence showed extraordinary sequence conservation (between 81-98% similarities) when compared to human, mouse and rat CNBP. The CNBP gene was shown to be a single copy and to cross-hybridize to human and mouse genomic DNA. A Northern blot analysis revealed cCNBP to be a constitutively expressed gene in a wide variety of tissues and to be differentially expressed in cultured chicken spleen and bursal cells after mitogen stimulation.