Molecular cloning and characterization of porcine sirtuin genes

The sirtuin family of class III histone deacetylases (HDACs) is named after their homology to yeast silent information regulator 2 (SIR2). SIR2 and its mammalian derivatives (SIRT1-7) play a central role in gene silencing, cell cycle, aging and metabolism. Here we reported cDNA cloning, chromosome mapping, expression and evolutional analysis of sirtuin genes in Sus scrofa (Tongcheng pig). Sequence analysis showed that porcine sirtuin genes contain 7 members designated SIRT1-7. Tissue distribution analysis indicated porcine sirtuin genes ubiquitously expressed but with the highest abundance in brain, spinal cord and genital tissue. In silico and radiation hybrid mapping analysis mapped porcine SIRT1-7 to the chromosomes 14q23, 6q11–12, 2q29, 14q19, 7p12, 2q11, and 12p15, respectively. We also isolated and characterized genomic sequence of porcine SIRT1, which spaned a region of 31,834 bp comprising 9 exons ranging in size from 80 bp to 2121 bp. The 5′ flanking genomic region preceding an open reading frame of SIRT1 has a TATA box, a small 300 bp CpG island and several putative Sp1 and p53 transcription factor binding sites. Moreover, we isolated two novel splicing SIRT6 variants with 346 bp (variant 2) in-frame deletions from lung and 327 bp (variant 3) in-frame deletions from spleen and brain. This is the first systematic report of molecular cloning and characterization of sirtuin genes in pigs, which will be helpful for a better understanding of the physiological role of sirtuin proteins in pigs.