Cloning and characterization of bovine stearoyl CoA desaturasel cDNA from adipose tissues

Two overlapping cDNA clones have been isolated from bovine adipose tissue b y the reverse-transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. The combined sequence of the two clones was 1039 bp in length and encoded 345 a mino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence of the clones showed 96.5% simi larity to that of sheep SCD and more than 88% similarities to other mammali an SCD1s, indicating that the clones are the cDNAs for the bovine SCD1. The transcript size of the bovine SCD1 was about 4.9 kb, the message was detec ted in the bovine adipose tissues but not in the liver. Female cattle expre ssed threefold higher levels of SCD1 mRNA than male animals.