In silico cloning and bioinformatic prediction of sheep LDHAL6A gene

Sheep EST sequences were aligned using human LDHAL6A cDNA sequence as a probe from sheep EST database in NCBI website, and sheep LDHAL6A gene was obtained by in silico cloning. The structure and property of the amino acid encoded by LDHAL6A gene were predicted. Results showed that sheep LDHAL6A cDNA sequence was 1 798 bp long, and it contained 149 bp of 5ˊUTR, 650 bp of 3ˊUTR as well as 999 bp of open reading frame (ORF) that encoded a 332 amino acid peptide. The protein encoded by sheep LDHAL6A gene had no signal peptide, and no transmembrane domains, it was a hydrophilic protein which was located in endoplasmic reticulum. The secondary structures were mainly composed of Alpha helix and random coil. Sequence analysis indicated that it mighht play a crucial role in the process of spermatogenesis.