Abstract
Pregnancy-Associated Glycoproteins (PAGs) are trophoblastic proteins belonging to the Aspartic proteinase family secreted by different placental cells of many mammalian species. They play a pivotal role in placentogenesis, foetomaternal unit remodeling, and implantation. The identification of the genes encoding those proteins will be helpful to unravel the intricate embryogenomic functions during pregnancy establishment. Considering importance of these proteins, the present study was undertaken to characterize the pregnancy associated glycoprotein-1 gene of buffalo. An 1181 base pairs buffalo Pregnancy-Associated Glycoprotein PAG-1 gene was PCR amplified from the RNA obtained from the fetal cotyledons. BLAST analysis of the buffalo PAG-1 sequence retrieved a total of 20 cattle, 5 goat, and 4 sheep PAG sequences, exhibiting more than 80% similarity. Buffalo PAG-1 gene contained an uninterrupted open reading frame of 1140 base pairs encoding 380 amino acids that possess a 15 amino acid signal peptide and mature peptide of 365 amino acids. The phylogenetic study of the buffalo PAG-1 gene revealed buffalo PAG-1 is more related to cattle, goat, and sheep PAG-1 sequences. By this study characterization of buffalo PAG-1 gene and its evolutionary relationship was deduced for the first time.
Highlights
Pregnancy is established and maintained by the two-way communication between the conceptus and the mother
Pregnancy-associated glycoproteins are one such large family of protein molecules produced by conceptus for the recognition by the mother
Pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAGs) are acidic glycoprotein belonging to the Aspartic Proteinase superfamily sharing more than 50% amino acid sequence identity with Pepsin, Cathepsin D, and E [3, 4]
Summary
Pregnancy is established and maintained by the two-way communication between the conceptus and the mother. These intricate dialogues which are initiated after fertilization are crucial as these signals are considered potential markers for effective placental remodeling, pregnancy recognition, and successful implantation. These interactions between the conceptus and maternal system emphasize the importance of both the components in maternal recognition of pregnancy and embryonic development [1]. Pregnancy-associated glycoproteins (PAGs) are acidic glycoprotein belonging to the Aspartic Proteinase superfamily sharing more than 50% amino acid sequence identity with Pepsin, Cathepsin D, and E [3, 4]
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