Plant and Animal Genome XII, San Diego, CA. Abstract P686.
Cancer cells are typically characterized by unlimited replication, or cellular immortality. Studies have shown that tumorigenesis and cellular immortalization are highly dependent on the enzyme telomerase. Telomerase maintains and elongates telomeres, the hexameric repeats (TTAGGG)n located at the ends of eukaryotic chromosomes. Most normal somatic cells show little or null telomerase expression. The expression of the catalytic subunit of telomerase, telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT), serves as a primary means of telomerase control and subsequently, cellular immortalization. Regulation of TERT could serve as a viable form of cancer therapy. To date, human TERT and portions of mouse and rat TERT have been sequenced. However, there is an indication that tumorigenesis in mice is not linked to telomerase activation; therefore, a porcine TERT sequence could provide the groundwork for producing a practical animal model for future cancer studies concerning telomerase. Clone 85N15, containing the porcine TERT gene, was isolated from the RCPI-44 porcine BAC library and an oriV/KAN-2 transposon library was created for sequencing. Sequences corresponding to approximately 10X coverage were generated and assembled. Sequence data for all 16 exons of porcine TERT were present, as well as sequences for two known genes upstream and downstream of pTERT (SLC6A3 and CRR9, respectively).