PCR-SSCP of Mx1 gene in Japanese quail and sequence homology comparison with chicken

Mx1 gene is an interferon induced gene which inhibits the proliferation of single stranded RNA viruses including influenza virus. Single nucleotide polymorphism in the Mx1 gene was reported to be associated with resistance to influenza virus in different species. The SSCP analysis of 148 bp fragment from 5^th exon of Mx1 gene revealed polymorphism in 170 Japanese quail birds. Total of four genotypes viz. AA, BB, CC and DD and four alleles viz. A, B, C and D were identified. The BB genotypes and B allele were predominating. Nucleotide sequencing of all the four alleles revealed 8 SNPs and 6 of these were non-synonymous. Multiple sequence alignment with chicken revealed 17 SNPs between quail and chicken, out of which, 9 were species specific. High percent identity was observed within quail as well as within chicken sequences, while percent identity was comparatively low between quail and chicken. Phylogentic tree revealed high closeness between Japanese and common quails, where as chicken was distant.