title: Sequence homology between RNAs encoding rat alpha-fetoprotein and rat serum albumin.
abstract: We have determined the sequences of the recombinant DNA inserts of three bacterial plasmid cDNA clones containing most of the rat alpha a-fetoprotein mRNA. The resultant nucleotide sequence of alpha-fetoprotein was exhaustively compared to the nucleotide sequence of the mRNA encoding rat serum albumin. These two mRNAs have extensive homology (50%) throughout and the same intron locations. The amino acid sequence of rat alpha-fetoprotein has been deduced from the nucleotide sequence, and its comparison to rat serum albumin's amino acid sequence reveals a 34% homology. The regularly spaced positions of the cysteines found in serum albumin are conserved in rat alpha-fetoprotein, indicating that these two proteins may have a similar secondary folding structure. These homologies indicate that alpha-fetoprotein and serum albumin were derived by duplication of a common ancestral gene and constitute a gene family.
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics*; D051381:Rats; D012709:Serum Albumin / Q000235:genetics*; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D012709:Serum Albumin; D000509:alpha-Fetoproteins