Assignment of the bovine BCL2-like 2 gene (BCL2L2) to BTA10q15-->q21 by in situ hybridization and with somatic cell hybrids.

The gene BCL2L2 encoding protein BCL2-like 2, alias BCL-W is involved in regulation of programmed cell death. It represents a member of the BCL-2 gene family comprising nearly 20 proteins, which govern the mitochondria-dependent pathway for apoptosis (Reed, 2000). BCL2-like 2 belongs to the subfamily of anti-apoptotic proteins (Denisov et al., 2003). Enforced expression of BCL2L2 in human lymphoid and myeloid cells has been shown to contribute to reduced cell apoptosis under cytotoxic conditions (Gibson et al., 1996). Expression analysis of BCL2L2 in Alzheimer disease brain indicates neuroprotective properties of the gene (Zhu et al., 2004). Studies of the orthologous gene in mice demonstrated an essential role in adult spermatogenesis (Ross et al., 1998). The chromosome locus for BCL2L2 in human was found on HSA14q11.2→q12. In ruminants, the role of anti-apoptotic and pro-apoptotic genes of the BCL-2 gene family was recently examined by functional and positional analysis of five BCL-2 genes in sheep including BCL2L2 (Lyahyai et al., 2005). Structure, function and chromosomal location of most members of the BCL-2 gene family in cattle are unknown. Here, we report the physical mapping of bovine BCL2L2 by FISH and PCR typing in a somatic cell hybrid panel.