Nucleotide sequence of a highly repetitive DNA element in the domestic goat and its structural relatedness to ovine satellite I and bovine satellite I DNA

This is the first report of sequence information for caprine Eco RI repetitive element DNA with restriction enzyme digestion and structural similarities to caprine and ovine satellite I DNA. Restriction endonuclease digestion of caprine (Capra hircus) genomic DNA with Eco RI releases an 851 bp and a 2.29 kb repetitive element. The 851 bp repetitive element was isolated and cloned, and three of the resultant clones subjected to double-stranded sequence analysis. Each of the sequences was examined for evidence of homology to the satellite I sequences of two other members of the family Bovidae, the domestic cow (Bos taurus) and the domestic sheep (Ovis aries). Analysis of the nucleotide sequences revealed the 851 bp element from goat to have 91% homology to ovine satellite I DNA and 55% homology to bovine satellite I DNA. The homology of the caprine repetitive element to other bovidae sequences supports the concept of sequence conservation of repetitive elements in related species and is useful in studies of satellite DNA origin and evolution.