The growth hormone gene (gh) of Sarcocheilichthys sinensis was cloned and characterized in this study. The cDNA length of gh was 973 bp, containing a 5′-UTR of 15 bp, a 3′-UTR of 325 bp and an open reading frame of 633 bp. The genomic DNA of gh was 2135 bp in length containing five exons and four introns. The precursor peptide of gh contained 210 amino acids (aa), including a signal peptide of 22 aa (Met¹–Ala²²) and a mature region of 188 aa (Ser²³–Leu²¹⁰). The similarity and identity ranges of the gh precursor peptide with those of other cyprinids were 88.6%–99.0% and 84.8%–98.6%, respectively. The gh of S. sinensis expressed at the highest level in the pituitary, and its expression was also detected in muscle and brain. Six polymorphic sites were detected in intron 1 (g.51InDel, g.64InDel and g.242InDel), intron 2 (g.864T>C), intron 3 (g.1017InDel) and intron 4 (g.1541A>G). Among these sites, g.242InDel was significantly associated with condition factor, g.1541A>G was associated with all six growth traits, while g.864T>C was associated with sex. The data obtained herein provide useful information for further studies on the regulation mechanisms of growth and sexual growth differences in S. sinensis.

本研究克隆并鉴定了中华绒螯蟹的生长激素基因（gh）。gh的cDNA长度为973 bp，包含15 bp的5'-UTR，325 bp的3'-UTR和633 bp的开放阅读框。gh的基因组DNA长度为2135 bp，包含五个外显子和四个内含子。gh的前体肽包含210个氨基酸（aa），包括22 aa的信号肽（Met ¹ – Ala ²²）和188 aa的成熟区域（Ser ²³ – Leu ²¹⁰）。gh的相似性和同一性范围前体肽与其他塞浦路斯肽的前体肽分别为88.6％–99.0％和84.8％–98.6％。在GH的S.冬虫夏草在垂体的最高水平表达，在肌肉和大脑中也检测到其表达。在内含子1（g.51InDel，g.64InDel和g.242InDel），内含子2（g.864T> C），内含子3（g.1017InDel）和内含子4（g.1541A> G）中检测到六个多态位点。在这些位点中，g.242InDel与条件因子显着相关，g.1541A> G与所有六个生长性状相关，而g.864T> C与性别相关。本文获得的数据为进一步研究中华。生长和性生长差异的调控机制提供了有用的信息。