title: A unique gene for 5-aminolevulinate synthase in chickens. Evidence for expression of an identical messenger RNA in hepatic and erythroid tissues.
abstract: Reports to date have led to the conclusion that there are isozymes for 5-aminolevulinate synthase in the liver and erythroid tissue of chicken. Indeed, the existence of a multigene family for chicken 5-aminolevulinate synthase has been proposed. We find no evidence to support these proposals. In this work we show that 5-aminolevulinate synthase mRNA from chicken liver and reticulocytes is identical as determined by RNase mapping and primer extension studies and that the 5-aminolevulinate synthase protein from these tissues is the same size as judged by immunoblot analysis. We also show that a single mRNA species for 5-aminolevulinate synthase is present in chicken liver, reticulocytes, brain, and heart and an avian erythroblastosis virus-transformed chicken erythroblast cell line. Southern analysis shows the presence of only one gene copy for 5-aminolevulinate synthase in the chicken haploid genome. Overall, these results lead to the conclusion that in chickens 5-aminolevulinate synthase is encoded by a unique gene and is expressed as a single mRNA species in all tissues.
mesh_terms: D000624:5-Aminolevulinate Synthetase / Q000235:genetics*; D001355:Alpharetrovirus; D000818:Animals; D001923:Brain Chemistry; D002460:Cell Line; D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral; D002645:Chickens; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D004591:Electrophoresis, Polyacrylamide Gel; D004900:Erythroblasts / Q000032:analysis; D007159:Immunologic Tests; D008099:Liver / Q000032:analysis*; D009206:Myocardium / Q000032:analysis; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000032:analysis*; D012156:Reticulocytes / Q000032:analysis*; D012260:Ribonucleases
chemical_list: D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D004247:DNA; D000624:5-Aminolevulinate Synthetase; D012260:Ribonucleases