CLONING OF THE CDNAS CODING FOR CAT GROWTH-HORMONE AND PROLACTIN

Characterization of the prolactin (PRL) amino acid (aa) or cDNA sequen ces has not been reported for any member of the Felidae family. We clo ned cat growth hormone (cGH) and cat PRL (cPRL) cDNA sequences from a feline pituitary cDNA library. High homology between species allowed b ovine PRL (bPRL) and bGH cDNA clones to be used to identify clones enc oding the 229-aa cPRL and 216-aa cGH sequences. The cGH protein is mos t homologous to pig and dog GH. Similarly, cPRL shares the most aa ide ntity to pig PRL (pPRL). Northern blot analysis revealed the mRNA size for cGH and cPRL to be approx. 1 and 1.1 kb, respectively. These resu lts reveal that GH and PRL from the Felidae family are highly conserve d to other families of GH and PRL.