CLONING AND EXPRESSION OF THE CHICKEN C-KIT PROTOONCOGENE

The Kit protein is a cell-surface tyrosine kinase receptor encoded by the c-kit proto-oncogene. cDNA clones encoding chicken Kit were isolat ed from a chicken brain cDNA library, and the nucleotide (nt) sequence of a cDNA clone containing the entire protein-coding region was deter mined. The deduced amino acid (aa) sequence of chicken Kit shows 63% i dentity to mouse Kit, and suggests that chicken Kit shares common stru ctural and functional features with mouse Kit. RNA blot analysis indic ated that the expression pattern of the chicken c-kit transcript in ch icken organs was similar to that of mouse c-kit in mice, suggesting th at chicken Kit has biological roles analogous to those of mouse Kit.