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PubMed1981

Isolation of two clusters of mouse histone genes.

Histone mRNA was partially purified from mouse myeloma cells synchronized in S phase by isoleucine starvation. A cDNA was prepared that contained sequences complementary to all five mouse histone genes. This cDNA was used to screen a library of mouse DNA in lambda phage. The positive clones were screened by hybridization with sea urchin histone gene-specific probes to identify those clones that contained histone genes. Confirmation of this identification was obtained by hybridization with Drosophila histone genes. Two independent clusters of histone genes were isolated. One, MM531, contains regions hybridizing specifically to H3, H4, and H1 and the other, MM221, contains two regions hybridizing specifically to H3 and single regions complementary to H4, H2b, and H2a. They are not part of a simple repeating structure. The nucleotide sequence of the coding region of the H3 gene in MM531 has been determined. This gene could code for a variant H3 protein that has several amino acid substitutions not reported in other H3 proteins.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Nucleotide sequence evidence for relationship of AIDS retrovirus to lentiviruses.

Lentiviruses are a subfamily of retroviruses which have been aetiologically linked to the induction of arthritis, encephalitis, progressive pneumonia and slow neurological diseases in certain species. Relatively little is known about their genome structure, mechanisms of pathogenesis or evolutionary relationships with other retroviral subfamilies. In an effort to understand better the mechanisms by which these viruses induce such a variety of chronic diseases, we have molecularly cloned and physically characterized the genomes of caprine arthritis-encephalitis virus (CAEV) and equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV) (A.Y. et al., in preparation). The latter, which bears some morphological similarity to the lentiviruses, has yet to be classified definitively as one. Here, we have determined the nucleotide sequence of a highly conserved region within the CAEV and EIAV pol genes. We demonstrate a much closer relationship of their predicted pol gene products to that of the presumed aetiological agent of human acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) than to those of other retroviruses. Additional pairwise comparisons allowed us to generate an evolutionary tree showing that the pol genes of lentiviruses and oncoviruses have evolved from a common progenitor.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗