Cloning and characterization of bovine Titin-cap (TCAP) gene

Titin-cap (TCAP), one of the abundant transcripts in skeletal muscles, was investigated in this study in cattle because of its role in regulating the proliferation and differentiation of myoblasts by interacting with the myostatin gene. From the 5′ and 3′ RACE experiments, full-length TCAP coding sequence was identified, comprising 166 amino acids. The amino acid comparison showed high sequence similarities with previously identified human (95.8%) and mouse (95.2%) TCAP genes. The TCAP expression, addressed by northern blot, is limited in muscle tissues as indicated by Valle et al. (1997). The radiation hybrid analysis localized the gene on BTA19, where the comparative human and porcine counterparts are on HSA17 and SSC12. A few muscle-related genetic disorders were mapped on HSA17 and some growth-related QTLs were identified on SSC12. The bovine TCAP gene found in this study opens up new possibilities for the investigation of muscle-related genetic diseases as well as meat yield traits in cattle.