Genomic cloning, characterization and statistical analysis of an antitumor-analgesic peptide from Chinese scorpion Buthus martensii Karsch

The genomic DNA sequence encoding an antitumor-analgesic peptide was amplified from the genome of Chinese scorpion Buthus martensii Karsch (BmKAGAP), then cloned and sequenced. An intron, with a high A + T content (61.6%), splits a glycine codon near the end of the precursor signal peptide and the consensus GT/AG splice junction was identified in the BmKAGAP gene. Using PCR amplification, we confirmed the identity of our cloned cDNA, and found that the BmKAGAP gene contained an intron of 506 bp in length, which was almost identical to that of the characterized scorpion sodium channel ligands in size, consensus junctions, putative branch point and A + T content. This is the first report of using a statistical method for Chinese scorpion B. martensii Karsch genomic sequence analysis, involving the extraction of some putative transcription regulatory factors. Moreover, it establishes a theoretical foundation for studying the relationship between scorpion evolution, gene expression and protein function.