Affiliation:
1. Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Abstract
Homeobox genes of the Abdominal B (AbdB) family constitute a distinct subset of vertebrate Hox genes. Analysis of the murine Hoxa-10 gene, one member of this family, revealed several properties specific to this class. Two transcripts of Hoxa-10, a10-1 and a10-2, encode homeodomain proteins of 55 kDa (399 amino acids) and 16 kDa (96 amino acids), respectively. These proteins have identical homeodomains and C-terminal regions encoded by a common 3' exon but differ significantly in the sizes of their N-terminal regions because of the usage of alternative 5' exons. The 5' exon of the a10-2 form is also present in transcripts of Hoxa-9, the next 3' gene, indicating that splicing can occur between adjacent AbdB Hox genes within a cluster. Both Hoxa-10 transcripts demonstrated identical patterns of expression in the posterior body and proximal limb bud, differentiating them from AbdB morphogenetic and regulatory transcripts and suggesting a role with other AbdB Hox genes in the patterning of these structures. Finally, a binding site selection identified the sequence AA(A/T)TTTTATTAC as the Hoxa-10 homeodomain consensus binding site, with a TTAT core sequence. Preferential recognition of a TTAT core therefore differentiates the AbdB class from Antennapedia (Antp) class gene products which bind a TAAT core. Thus, in vertebrates, structural similarities, coordinate transcriptional regulation, sites of expression, and binding site preferences all serve to distinguish AbdB from Antp Hox genes.
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology
Subject
Cell Biology,Molecular Biology
Cited by
79 articles.
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