title: Expression of three mRNA species from a single rat aldolase A gene, differing in their 5' non-coding regions.
abstract: The complete nucleotide sequence of the rat aldolase A isozyme gene, including the 5' and 3' flanking sequences, was determined. The gene comprises ten exons, spans 4827 base-pairs and occurs in a single copy per haploid rat genome. The genomic DNA sequence was compared with those of three species of rat aldolase A mRNA (mRNAs I, II and III) that have been found to differ from each other only in the 5' non-coding region and to be expressed tissue-specifically. It revealed that the first exon (exon M1) encodes the 5' non-coding sequence of mRNA I, while the second exon (exon AH1) encodes those of mRNAs II and III and the following eight exons (exons 2 to 9) are shared commonly by all the mRNA species. These results allowed us to conclude that mRNA I and mRNAs II, III were generated from a single aldolase A gene by alternative usage of exon M1 or exon AH1 in addition to exons 2 to 9. S1 nuclease mapping of the 5' ends of their precursor RNAs suggested that these three mRNA species were transcribed from three different initiation sites on the single gene.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D004247:DNA; D005634:Fructose-Bisphosphate Aldolase / Q000235:genetics*; D005796:Genes; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics*; D051381:Rats; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D004247:DNA; D005634:Fructose-Bisphosphate Aldolase