Rat thymosin beta 4 gene. Intron-containing gene and multiple retroposons

Thymosin beta 4 (T beta 4), a 43-residue peptide of uncertain function, is widely distributed in most tissues of vertebrates. Southern blot analysis demonstrated that the rat genome contains many closely related T beta 4 sequences. Two distinct T beta 4 sequences were isolated by screening a rat gen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of biological chemistry 1991-08, Vol.266 (22), p.14256-14261
Main Authors: Varghese, S, Kronenberg, H M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Base Sequence
Blotting, Southern
DNA - genetics
DNA - isolation & purification
DNA Transposable Elements
Introns
Molecular Sequence Data
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Rats
RNA, Messenger - genetics
Thymosin - analogs & derivatives
Thymosin - genetics
Transcription, Genetic
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Summary:Thymosin beta 4 (T beta 4), a 43-residue peptide of uncertain function, is widely distributed in most tissues of vertebrates. Southern blot analysis demonstrated that the rat genome contains many closely related T beta 4 sequences. Two distinct T beta 4 sequences were isolated by screening a rat genomic DNA library. Analysis of these clones revealed that they represent T beta 4 retroposons; they lack introns and contain stretches of poly(A) sequence at their 3' ends and direct repeats flanking the cDNA-like sequences. In order to isolate a T beta 4 intron-containing gene, DNA fragments that include T beta 4 introns were generated by polymerase chain reaction, using rat genomic DNA as template. Subsequent Southern blot analysis of rat genomic DNA with intron-specific probes demonstrated the presence of a single T beta 4 intron-containing gene. Upon screening the rat genomic DNA library with an intron-specific probe, two overlapping clones of the T beta 4 intron-containing gene were isolated. Further characterization and sequence analysis showed that the rat T beta 4 intron-containing gene has a 2-kilobase pair-long transcription unit containing two introns. The transcription initiation site and putative regulatory elements of the promoter were identified.
ISSN:0021-9258
1083-351X
DOI:10.1016/S0021-9258(18)98676-X