Molecular cloning and characterization of SLC11A1 cDNA in Japanese Quail ( Coturnix Coturnix Japonica)

SLC11A1 is one of the most potent candidate genes conferring host's genetic resistance/susceptibility to various antigenically different intracellular pathogens. In this manuscript, we report the cloning and characterization of the complete coding sequence of SLC11A1 cDNA in Japanese quail. The 1680 bp of cloned SLC11A1 cDNA consisted of an open reading frame of 1665 bp which coded for a complete protein of 555 amino acid residues. At nucleotide and amino acid sequence levels, Japanese quail SLC11A1 exhibited 95.1 and 96.9% identity with that of chicken, respectively. However, when compared with the mammalian homologues, it exhibited 64.8–66.4% and 64.5–66.9% identity, respectively. Phylogram constructed on the basis of both nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences revealed similar pattern with the placement of Japanese quail and chicken SLC11A1 in the same clad.