A processed pseudogene with an intact coding sequence for rat liver cytochrome c oxidase subunit VIc

The biogenesis of eukaryotic cytochrome c oxidase involves the coordinate expression of nuclear and mitochondrial genes. Very little information is available on the gene structure of nuclear-coded cytochrome c oxidase subunits in mammalian systems. We report here the isolation and complete nucleotide sequence determination of a processed pseudogene for cytochrome c oxidase subunit VIc from rat liver. The pseudogene lacks introns and the coding region is intact with no deleterious lesions; however, there are 7 amino acid (aa) differences when compared to the sequence derived from cDNA clones. The pseudogene has the potential to code for a protein of 76 aa, containing a putative 3 aa N-terminal presequence when compared to the mature bovine heart VIc subunit. Potential regulatory regions, including a TATA box, are present in the 5'-flanking region.