title: The ink4a/arf locus evolution in primates: characterization of three ARF sequences.
abstract: The human ink4a/arf locus encodes two cell cycle regulatory proteins - the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor (p16(ink4a)), and the p53 activator (ARF) - through the use of alternative first exons. This genomic organization is unique in eukaryotes, with two different proteins obtained using different reading frames. The divergence between mouse or opossum and human ARF is very high, whereas proteins have the same nucleolar localization and function. To gain further insights into the relative importance of ARF in different settings, we characterized here the exon 1beta of ARF in 12 different species of primates. We did not find any polymorphism in studied species (monkeys, apes, and humans). These sequences are very similar, with few amino acids substitutions compared to the human sequence. It is strange to find such a high degree of conservation among primates when there is such a low degree of conservation between the human pig, rat, or mouse, chicken exon 1beta sequences. More surprisingly, we observe a threonine at position 31 in all human sequences, whereas an alanine is always present in other sequences. We suggest that when the radiation human/simian appeared or after, a selection of threonine occurred. Moreover, the modifications detected could play a role in different interactions between ARF and other proteins to stabilize or not these complexes.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Génétique Cellulaire et Moléculaire, UPRES EA2622, Université de Poitiers and CHU de Poitiers, France.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Di Tommaso
authors.forename: Cédric
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Soler
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Roos
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kitzis
authors.forename: Véronique
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Ladeveze
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16 / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011323:Primates / Q000235:genetics*; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D019941:Cyclin-Dependent Kinase Inhibitor p16