THE ISOLATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THE SOLUBLE AND MEMBRANE-BOUND PORCINE CYTOCHROME B(5) CDNAS

In some male pigs, there is an increased production of the testicular 16 androstene steroids which end up being concentrated in fatty tissue . When the meat is cooked, a disagreeable odor/flavor is produced, a p henomenon known as ''boar taint.'' All boars selected for food product ion are castrated even though only ca 10% of boars may be ''tainted.'' This has a high economic cost because castrated pigs convert food int o meat less efficiently, the meat is fattier, and there is an increase d mortality due to the castration procedure. Recent data has implicate d an increased level of cytochrome b(5) in the testes with the increas ed synthesis of the 16-androstene steroids. As an initial step in anal yzing this process, we used 5' and 3' RACE PCR procedures to isolate, clone and sequence the cDNAs for the membrane-bound and soluble forms of porcine cytochrome b(5). (C) 1997 Academic Press.