Cloning and tissue expression characteristics of MPC1 and MPC2 genes in Bos grunniens

【Objective】To clarify the molecular biological and tissue expression characteristics of mitochondrial pyruvate carrier encoding genes(MPC1 and MPC2) in yak(Bos grunniens), and provide basic data for further research on the mechanism of MPC genes in the plateau adaptation and energy metabolism of yak. 【Method】Maiwa yak was selected as the research object, the coding region(CDS) sequence of MPC1 and MPC2 genes were cloned by PCR. The protein structure and physicochemical properties were predicted by online bioinformatics analysis software, and their expression levels in different tissues of different ages yak(0.5-year-old, 1.5-year-old and 2.5-year-old) were detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR. 【Result】The length of the CDS sequence obtained by cloning the yak MPC1 gene was 330 bp, and the number of encoded amino acids residues was 109, the length of CDS region of MPC2 gene was 384 bp, and the number of encoded amino acids was 127. Phylogenetic tree based on CDS sequence similarity of MPC1 and MPC2 genes showed that yak was most closely related to Bos taurus and Bubalus bubalis respectively, and most far from Oris aries.MPC1 and MPC2 proteins were stable hydrophilic proteins, which dominated by alanine and leucine, which had transmembrane structure and no signal peptide, had one MPC domain. The secondary structure was dominated by α-helix(57.80% and 55.12%), and the model of the tertiary structure was 5xpd.1.A. Among the 0.5-year-old, 1.5-year-old and 2.5-year-old the expression levels of MPC1 and MPC2 genes were the highest in the heare of yak, followed by spleen and liver, and the lowest in the spleen. However, the expression patterns of MPC1 and MPC2 genes in different tissues of yak at three ages were inconsistent that may be related to the tissue specificity of gene expression and their different roles in different growth and development stages of yak. 【Conclusion】The MPC1 and MPC2 genes exhibit high conservation across ruminants, with their expression being both tissue-specific and sequential, particularly in the heart. The encoded protein is notably abundant in alanine and leucine, suggesting a crucial role of the MPC1 and MPC2 genes in meat quality and plateau adaptation, but their functions vary during different growth stages of yak.