Molecular Cloning and Expression inEscherichia coliof Equine Type I Interferons

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Abstract
Using human interferon-alpha 2 (IFN-α2) and IFN-β DNA to probe an equine genomic library we isolated recombinant phages containing genes for equine interferon-alpha (EqIFN-α), interferon-beta (EqIFN-β), and interferon-omega (EqIFN-ω). Sequence and hybridization analyses of these genes reveal that the equine genome contains gene families of each of these three type I interferon classes. The mature proteins of EqIFN-α are 71–77% homologous to human IFN-α polypeptides, and, when expressed in E. coli, possess antiviral activity on both equine and human cells. By contrast, EqIFN-β is only 59% homologous to its human counterpart and shows activity only on equine cells.