Cloning and sequence analysis of ribosomal protein L18 gene (rpl18) from Ailuropoda melanoleuca

The rpl18 is a component of the 60s large ribosomal subunit playing an important role in ribosome. Based on the known nucleotide sequence of rpl18 genes, primers were designed to clone cDNA and genomic sequence of rpl18 gene from giant panda (Ailuropoda melanomleuca) successfully, and the structure characteristic of this gene was analyzed. The cDNA fragment of the rpl18 cloned from A. melanoleuca is 603bp in size, containing an open reading frame of 567bp. The deduced amino acid sequence has 188 residues, and the estimated molecular weight is 21.59 KD with 12.18 of PI. Alignment analysis implied that rpl18 shares high homology with the reported mammalian species, both at the level of DNA and protein. The predicted protein has 6 different patterns of functional sites. The data will not only enrich the information about rpl18 gene from giant panda genomic database.