Abstract
We determined the nucleotide sequences of three nonallelic cytochrome c genes (from recombinant clones Ch4A-RC5, 6 and 8) isolated from the rat cytochrome c gene family. In contrast with a fourth gene (from Ch4A-RC4), which has an intron and correctly encodes rat cytochrome c, these three appear to be pseudogenes and resemble mRNA molecules in two respects: they are all missing the intron of clone 4, and sequence homology with clone 4 in their 3′ noncoding regions abruptly ends at two different A-rich tracts reminiscent of poly(A) tails. We also detect three cytochrome c mRNAs of sizes 1400, 1100 and 700 nucleotides in several tissues of the adult rat. The size differences among the mRNAs can be accounted for by length heterogeneity in their 3′ noncoding regions. Two of the 3′ ends map to the two points where the mRNA-like genes diverge from clone 4 at poly(A) tracts. Furthermore, short direct repeats flank the genes of clones 5, 6 and 8 at the positions where their sequences diverge. The observations suggest that these members of the cytochrome c multigene family may arise through insertion into the genome of DNA copies of cytochrome c mRNAs.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 473-482 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Cell |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Feb 1983 |
Funding
We thank Kathleen M. Agne and Jenifer Barthel for their excellent technical assistance, and Elizabeth B. Keller for valuable criticisms. This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Public Health Service and the Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Cancer Fund. The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked “advertisement” in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to indicate this fact.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology