title: Evidence for a human histone gene cluster containing H2B and H2A pseudogenes.
abstract: Not all members of the human histone gene family are functional. We have isolated a human H2B pseudogene that contains alterations in the protein-coding sequences as well as in the 3' and 5' flanking sequences that preclude expression of a functional H2B histone protein. There are three modifications in the amino acid-coding region: a single-base deletion producing a frame shift, a single-base substitution resulting in a codon change from serine to tryptophan (an amino acid not present in histones), and the absence of a stop codon. Analysis of nucleotide sequences upstream from the AUG start signal indicates the absence of a "TATA" box and other putative consensus regulatory sequences. In the 3' flanking region, a highly conserved block of 22 nucleotides that exhibits hyphenated dyad symmetry is displaced downstream. Within the same genomic segment, the adjacent H2A histone gene is missing 12 nucleotides, resulting in a deletion of four amino acids in a highly conserved region of the protein.
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes; D004274:DNA, Recombinant / Q000378:metabolism; D005796:Genes; D006657:Histones / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D010957:Plasmids
chemical_list: D004274:DNA, Recombinant; D006657:Histones; D004262:DNA Restriction Enzymes