Interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R) gamma chain, a member of the cytokine receptor superfamily, forms a high-affinity receptor with IL-2R alpha and beta chains that plays an important role in interleukin-2 (IL-2) signal transduction. We have cloned and characterized the bovine IL-2Rgamma gene and corresponding cDNA. Bovine IL-2Rgamma is a single-copy gene that contains 8 exons and spans approximately 3.8 kb. The promoter region lacks conventional TATA and CCAAT consensus sites, but contains several regulatory elements that are recognition sites for the GATA binding proteins, AP-1 and AP-2. Physical assignment by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) placed the bovine IL-2Rgamma gene on chromosome Xq23.