Characterization of chicken octamer-binding proteins demonstrates that POU domain-containing homeobox transcription factors have been highly conserved during vertebrate evolution

Journal Article · Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 1990 · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.87.3.1099· OSTI ID:7064488

Petryniak, B; Postema, C E; McCormack, W T; Thompson, C B ^[1]; Staudt, L M ^[2]

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1. Univ. of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor (USA)
2. National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD (USA)

The DNA sequence motif ATTTGCAT (octamer) or its inverse complement has been identified as an evolutionarily conserved element in the promoter region of immunoglobulin genes. Two major DNA-binding proteins that bind in a sequence-specific manner to the octamer DNA sequence have been identified in mammalian species--a ubiquitously expressed protein (Oct-1) and a lymphoid-specific protein (Oct-2). During characterization of the promoter region of the chicken immunoglobulin light chain gene, the authors identified two homologous octamer-binding proteins in chicken B cells. when the cloning of the human gene for Oct-2 revealed it to be a member of a distinct family of homeobox genes, they sought to determine if the human Oct-2 cDNA could be used to identify homologous chicken homeobox genes. Using a human Oct-2 homeobox-specific DNA probe, they were able to identify 6-10 homeobox-containing genes in the chicken genome, demonstrating that the Oct-2-related subfamily of homeobox genes exists in avian species. DNA sequence analysis revealed it to be the chicken homologue of the human Oct-1 gene. Together, the data show that the POU-containing subfamily of homeobox genes have been highly conserved during vertebrate evolution, apparently as a result of selection for their DNA-binding and transcriptional regulatory properties.

• OSTI ID: 7064488
• Journal Information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America; (USA), Vol. 87:3; ISSN 0027-8424
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
GENE REPRESSORS
DNA SEQUENCING
IMMUNOGLOBULINS
DNA-CLONING
GENE REGULATION
NUCLEOPROTEINS
BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
CHICKENS
GENETIC MAPPING
RECOMBINANT DNA
TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS
ANIMALS
BIRDS
CLONING
DNA
DNA HYBRIDIZATION
FOWL
GLOBULINS
HYBRIDIZATION
MAPPING
NUCLEIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
PROTEINS
STRUCTURAL CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
VERTEBRATES
550200* - Biochemistry