Sequence and expression analysis of the androgen receptor gene from Compact mouse (Brief Report)

Abstract. The phenotype of hypermuscled Compact mouse is determined by the MstnCmpt-dl1Abc myostatin mutation and also by additional modifier genes, mapped to different chromosome regions (VARGA et al. 1997, SZABÓ et al. 1998, VARGA et al. 2003, VARGA et al. 2005). The androgen receptor gene (Ar) was considered to be a potential candidate gene on the basis of our mapping results and its function, as it is located in that region of the X chromosome, where the strongest modifier effect was detected in the males and because Ar was described earlier as a regulator of TGF-ß (CHIPUK et al. 2002). A similar regulation could thus also be assumed through the androgen response element of myostatin, a member of the TGF-ß superfamily (MA et al. 2001). The sex-influenced nature of the Compact phenotype (VARGA et al. 1997, BÜNGER et al. 2005) appeared to strengthen this hypothesis. In this study we analysed the coding sequence of the Ar locus in Compact mice and the expression of Ar mRNA by quantitative Real-Time PCR.