Nucleic Acids Research, 1988, Vol. 16, No. 7 2959-2969
© 1988
Articles |
Intergenic exchange maintains identity between two human lambda light chain immunoglobulin gene intron sequences
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Miami Medical School PO Box 016960, Miami, FL 33101, USA
*To whom correspondence should be addressed
Received August 27, 1987. Revised February 25, 1988. Accepted February 25, 1988.
Evidence for gene conversion or unequal double crossover in the human
light chain imunoglobulin locus is presented. The high level of J2C2-J3C3 Intron cross-hybridization, the identity of the J
2 and J
3 coding and intron sequences, the presence of multiple base differences between the C
2 and C
3 coding regions, and the presence of both the unconverted and converted all eles in the normal gene pool, suggest that a recombinational event has resulted in the conversion of the J
2 coding and intron sequences to those of J
3 and Its flanking sequences. Intergenic exchanges, such as the one described here, may provide a mechanism to maintain sequence homogeneity and functionality among the duplicated members of the human lambda gene family.
1Present address: Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Miami Medical School, PO Box 016960, Miami, FL 33101, USA.