The thymus is essential for T-cell development. The transcription factor Foxn1 plays an important role in the development and function of thymic epithelial cells(TECs) in vertebrates. However, the transcriptional regulation and expression pattern of Foxn1 in pig is not known. Here, the complete sequence of pig Foxn1 was sequenced. Sequence analysis showed that the pig Foxn1 gene was 14 730 bp in length. Its cDNA full coding sequence(CDS) consisted of 1 941 bp nucleotides that encoded a 646-amino acid polypeptide. Its amino acid sequence comprised a conserved forkhead 3 domain spanning amino acids 269-365. Phylogenetic reconstruction of the Foxn1 nucleotide sequence of the pig and other species revealed that the pig Foxn1 gene was closely related to the sheep and cattle Foxn1 genes. Foxn1 gene was conserved in mammals. RT-PCR analysis showed that Foxn1 was only expressed in the thymus, skin and tongue, but not in the heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney, adrenal gland, subcutaneous fat, longissimus dorsi, large intestine, small intestine, stomach, mesenteric lymph node, throat and ovary. These findings indicated that the expression pattern of Foxn1 was tissue-specific.
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