|
|
Prepublished online as a Blood First Edition Paper on November 27, 2002; DOI 10.1182/blood-2002-09-2850.
Submitted September 18, 2002
Accepted November 1, 2002
A functional and comparative analysis of globin loci in pufferfish and man
Nynke Gillemans, Tara McMorrow, Rita Tewari, Albert W Wai, Carola Burgtorf, Dubravka Drabek, Nicki Ventress, An Langeveld, Douglas Higgs, Kian Tan-Un, Frank Grosveld, and Sjaak Philipsen*
Department of Cell Biology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Department of Cell Biology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Pharmacology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
Department of Cell Biology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Biology, Imperial College of Science Technology and Medicine, London, United Kingdom
Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, Berlin, Germany
MRC Molecular Haematology Unit, Institute for Molecular Medicine, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom
Department of Zoology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
* Corresponding author; email: philipsen{at}ch1.fgg.eur.nl.
To further our understanding of the regulation of vertebrate globin loci, we have isolated cosmids containing  - and  -globin genes from the pufferfish Fugu rubripes. By DNA FISH analysis we show that Fugu contains two distinct hemoglobin loci situated on separate chromosomes. One locus contains only -globin genes (-locus) while the other also contains a -globin gene (-locus). This is the first poikilothermic species analysed where the physical linkage of the - and -globin genes has been uncoupled, supporting a model in which the separation of the - and -globin loci has occurred through duplication of a locus containing both types of genes. Surveys for transcription factor binding sites and DNaseI hypersensitive site mapping of the Fugu -locus suggest that a strong distal Locus Control Region regulating the activity of the globin genes, as found in mammalian -globin clusters, may not be present in the Fugu -locus. Searching the human and mouse genome databases with the genes surrounding the pufferfish hemoglobin loci reveals that homologues of some of these genes are in close proximity to cytoglobin, a recently described novel member of the globin family. This provides evidence that duplication of the globin loci has occurred several times during evolution, resulting in the five human globin loci known to date, each encoding proteins with specific functions in specific cell types.
 CiteULike  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
|
|
 
S.-I. Kim, E. H. Bresnick, and S. J. Bultman
BRG1 directly regulates nucleosome structure and chromatin looping of the {alpha} globin locus to activate transcription
Nucleic Acids Res.,
October 1, 2009;
37(18):
6019 - 6027.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
T. J. Near, S. K. Parker, and H. W. Detrich III
A Genomic Fossil Reveals Key Steps in Hemoglobin Loss by the Antarctic Icefishes
Mol. Biol. Evol.,
November 1, 2006;
23(11):
2008 - 2016.
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
[PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
