title: Genomic structure and expression analyses of the PYGM gene in the thoroughbred horse.
abstract: Muscle glycogen Phosphorylase (PYGM) has been shown to catalyze the degradation of glycogen to glucose-1-phosphate. The PYGM gene can contribute to providing energy to the body by disassembling the glycogen in muscle. Here, we analyzed the genomic structure and expression of the PYGM gene in the thoroughbred horse. The PYGM gene, containing several transposable elements (MIRs, LINEs, and MERs), was highly conserved in mammalian genomes. In order to understand the expression of the horse PYGM gene, we performed quantitative RT-PCR using 11 thoroughbred horse tissue samples. The horse PYGM gene was broadly expressed in all tissues tested. In particular, the highest expression of the horse PYGM gene was observed in skeletal muscle tissue relative to the other tissues. Interestingly, the horse PYGM gene contains fewer mobile elements than its human ortholog, resulting in an increase in the structural stability of the PYGM gene sequence. This study provides insights into the genomic structure of the horse PYGM gene that may be useful in future studies of its association with exercise capability.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, College of Natural Sciences, Pusan National University, Busan 609-735, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Gyu-Hwi
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Nam
authors.forename: Kung
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Jin-Han
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Bae
authors.forename: Kyudong
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Chong-Eon
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Kyung-Do
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Sang-Hak
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Byung-Wook
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Heui-Soo
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D015870:Gene Expression; D023281:Genomics; D024982:Glycogen Phosphorylase, Muscle Form / Q000235:genetics*; D006736:Horses / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D020071:Interspersed Repetitive Sequences; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000378:metabolism; D010375:Pedigree; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D024982:Glycogen Phosphorylase, Muscle Form