Characterization of Leptin (LEP) gene in Indian dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius)

Abstract

Information on the camel leptin gene when compared to other domestic livestock species is very limited. Hence, thepresent study was undertaken to characterize the leptin gene of the Indian dromedary camel (Camelus dromedarius).Five overlapping primer pairs were designed utilizing the available Lama Glama leptin gene sequence. Through theassembly, alignment, and editing of the five overlapping nucleotide sequences, a 2425 bp long leptin gene sequence(Accession no. MT103545.1) of dromedary camel covering partial exon-2, intron-2, exon-3, and partial-3’ UTRregion was characterized. The study successfully amplified the leptin gene, including intron-2 and 3’UTR of camelleptin gene for the first time using genomic DNA samples. The Indian dromedary camel leptin gene at the nucleotide level shared more than 97% similarity with llama and more than 80% similarity with major domesticated species like cattle, buffalo, sheep, and goat. The evolutionary relationship study based on amino acid sequences showed a close relationship between dromedary and bactrian camel species followed by llama. The high level of similarity between camel leptin gene amino acid sequence and other species showed the conserved nature of leptin protein.