A sequence with homology to human HPFH-linked enhancer elements and to a family of G-protein linked membrane receptor genes is located downstream of the chicken beta-globin locus.
We report 5805bp of novel sequence (GenBank/EMBL Accession No. AJ012570) from a region starting approx. 11.5kb downstream of the chicken beta-globin locus (map position approx. +30.8 to +36.6kb), which contains a 945bp open reading frame (map position approx. +33 to +33.9kb). This is predicted to encode a 315-residue protein containing seven hydrophobic helical regions and a 17 amino acid motif characteristic of the R7G family of G-protein coupled membrane-bound receptors. The open reading frame and some surrounding sequence also have significant homology with the breakpoint enhancer elements, which also contain open reading frames, implicated in the HPFH-1/2 and HPFH-6 deletional forms of the human syndrome, hereditary persistence of foetal haemoglobin (HPFH). The existence of similar sequences at similar distances downstream of the beta-globin genes in chickens and HPFH patients is intriguing.
Cambridge Centre for Molecular Recognition and Department of Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, 80 Tennis Court Road, Cambridge CB2 1GA, UK.
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D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D002645:Chickens; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D004742:Enhancer Elements, Genetic; D005319:Fetal Hemoglobin / Q000235:genetics*; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005914:Globins / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
D011956:Receptors, Cell Surface; D005914:Globins; D004247:DNA; D005319:Fetal Hemoglobin; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins