Nucleic Acids Research, 1985, Vol. 13, No. 15 5611-5628
© 1985
Articles |
Phylogenetic conservation of immimoglobulin heavy chains: direct comparison of hamster and mouse Cµ genes
Immunology Graduate Program Dallas, TX 75235, USA 1Department of Microbiology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical School Dallas, TX 75235, USA 2Department of Surgery, Dalhousi University Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4H7, Canada
*To Whom reprint requests should be sent
Received April 9, 1985. Revised July 2, 1985. Accepted July 2, 1985.
We have analyzed the JH-Cµ locus of the Syrian hamster by DNA cloning and sequencing. The single Cµ gene is highly homologous to that of the mouse. The hamster equivalents of the JH and switch (S) recombination regions are arranged as in the mouse, but surprisingly are not highly conserved. Also unlike its close murine relative, the Sµ regions among inbred hamster strains are not polymorphic. The complete nucleotide sequence of hamster and mouse Cµ genes have been compared to partial Cµ sequences of other species. Conservation within a portion of the 3' untranslated region may signify functional requirements for3' end processing. Mutational frequencies within exons and introns of hamster and mouse do not support the theory that the rate of DNA transitions to transversions decreases with evolutionary distance.