Informatic and genomic analysis of melanocyte cDNA libraries as a resource for the study of melanocyte development and function.
As part of the RIKEN mouse encyclopedia project, two cDNA libraries were prepared from melanocyte-derived cell lines, using techniques of full-length clone selection and subtraction/normalization to enrich for rare transcripts. End sequencing showed that these libraries display over 83% complete coding sequence at the 5' end and 96-97% complete coding sequence at the 3' end. Evaluation of the libraries, derived from B16F10Y tumor cells and melan-c cells, revealed that they contain clones for a majority of the genes previously demonstrated to function in melanocyte biology. Analysis of genomic locations for transcripts revealed that the distribution of melanocyte genes is non-random throughout the genome. Three genomic regions identified that showed significant clustering of melanocyte-expressed genes contain one or more genes previously shown to regulate melanocyte development or function. A catalog of genes expressed in these libraries is presented, providing a valuable resource of cDNA clones and sequence information that can be used for identification of new genes important for melanocyte development, function, and disease.
Baxter
Laura L
LL
Genetic Disease Research Branch, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20855, USA.
Hsu
Benjamin J
BJ
Umayam
Lowell
L
Wolfsberg
Tyra G
TG
Larson
Denise M
DM
Frith
Martin C
MC
Kawai
Jun
J
Hayashizaki
Yoshihide
Y
Carninci
Piero
P
Pavan
William J
WJ
D000818:Animals; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D019295:Computational Biology / Q000379:methods*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D015723:Gene Library; D005821:Genetic Techniques; D016678:Genome; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods; D008544:Melanocytes / Q000378:metabolism*; D008546:Melanoma, Experimental / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008954:Models, Biological