Identification and characterization of the 9-kda calbindin gene of the fruit bat (rousettus aegyptiacus)

A fibroblast cell line was established from skin and iwig tissue of the fruit bat. Genomic DNA was isolated from the îi'croblast cells and was restriction digested and probed for the 9-kDa calbindin gene with a 180 base pair fragment of mouse 3-kDa calbindin cDNA. Genomic DNA from rats and humans was siciilarly probed. Hybridization and thus homology was oLsorved between the mouse probe and DNA from the rat and the fruit bat, but not the human. A genomic library of the fruit bat woo constructed in Xgt11. The titre of the library was determined to ba 2x105 pfuml. The genomic library was amplified and the iiisr of the amplified library increased 300-fold to 7x107 pfuml. Th-4 library was screened by in situ hybridization techniques and a positive clone was identified after screening 10s plaque.- Lambda phage DNA was isolated from the positive clone and restriction digest analyses, followed by hybridization stud.ss, were performed on these digests in order to determine the location of the bat 9-kDa calbindin gene in the insert of the lambda phage vector. Partial restriction maps so derived were interpreted from the published sequence for the rat 9-kDa calbindin gene. They indicate the successful isolation of the 9-kDa calbindin gene of Ronsstfns aegyatiac'js.