Nucleotide sequence of the chicken cardiac alpha actin gene: absence of strong homologies in the promoter and 3'-untranslated regions with the skeletal alpha actin sequence

The entire nucleotide sequence of the chicken cardiac alpha-actin (CC alpha A) gene has been determined. This is the first complete sequence of a cardiac actin gene that includes the promoter region, cap site, all the introns, and the polyadenylation site. The gene contains six introns, five of which interrupt the coding region at amino acids (aa) 41, 150, 204, 267, and 327. The first intron is in the 5'-noncoding region and is 438 bp in length. The CC alpha A gene encodes an mRNA of approx. 1400 bp with 5'- and 3'-untranslated region of 59 and 184 nucleotides (nt), respectively. Like the chicken skeletal alpha-actin gene, the CC alpha A gene has the codon for the aa cysteine between the initiator ATG and the codon for the N-terminal aspartic acid residue of the mature protein. There are no strong homologies (less than 13 consecutive nt) in the promoter or 3'-untranslated regions between the CC alpha A and chicken skeletal alpha-actin genes even though both are expressed in skeletal muscle during development. However, the 3'-untranslated region of the CC alpha A gene demonstrates significant sequence homology (76% over a 200-nt region) with the same region in the partial sequence of the human cardiac gene. The conservation of these sequence homologies between identical isoforms rather than the different alpha actin genes suggests these conserved regions may have a role in regulation rather than tissue-specific expression, as previously proposed.     

The actin gene in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae: 5'' and 3'' end mapping, flanking and putative regulatory sequences

The 5' and 3' flanking regions of the yeast actin gene have been sequenced and the ends of the actin mRNA were determined by the single-strand nuclease mapping procedure. The mRNA starts with a pyrimidine residue 141 (or 140) nucleotides upstream from the initiation codon. The actin gene lacks a typical "TATA" box 30 base pairs upstream from the mRNA start site but it contains a region homologous to the canonical sequence 5'-GGCTCAATCT-3' which is found in several eukaryotic genes 70 to 80 bp upstream from the mRNA cap site. Judging from the S1 nuclease mapping, there are two populations of actin mRNA terminating 98 and 107 nucleotides downstream from the stop codon. The 3' termini are preceded by three AATAAA sequences found in most eukaryotic polyadenylated mRNAs.     

Functional activity of the two promoters of the myosin alkali light chain gene in primary muscle cell cultures: comparison with other muscle gene promoters and other culture systems.

Proximal upstream flanking sequences of the mouse myosin alkali light chain gene encoding MLC1F and MLC3F, the mouse alpha-cardiac actin gene and the chicken gene for the alpha-subunit of the acetylcholine receptor were linked to the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) gene and transfected into primary cultures derived from mouse skeletal muscle or into myogenic cell lines. We demonstrate that the mouse MLC1F/MLC3F gene has two functional promoters. In primary muscle cultures, a 1200 bp sequence flanking exon 1 (MLC1F) and a 438 bp sequence flanking exon 2 (MLC3F) direct CAT activity in myotubes, but not in myoblasts or in non myogenic 3T6 and CV1 cells. Developmentally regulated expression is also seen with the alpha-cardiac actin (320 bp) and acetylcholine receptor alpha-subunit (850 bp) upstream sequences in the primary culture system. Transfection experiments with myogenic cell lines show different results with a given promoter construct, reflecting possible differences in the levels of regulatory factors between lines. Different muscle gene promoters behave differently in a given cell line, suggesting different regulatory factor requirements between these promoters.     

Isolation and characterization of six different chicken actin genes.

Genes representing six different actin isoforms were isolated from a chicken genomic library. Cloned actin cDNAs as well as tissue-specific mRNAs enriched in different actin species were used as hybridization probes to group individual actin genomic clones by their relative thermal stability. Restriction maps showed that these actin genes were derived from separate and nonoverlapping regions of genomic DNA. Of the six isolated genes, five included sequences from both the 5' and 3' ends of the actin-coding area. Amino acid sequence analysis from both the NH2- and COOH-terminal regions provided for the unequivocal identification of these genes. The striated isoforms were represented by the isolated alpha-skeletal, alpha-cardiac, and alpha-smooth muscle actin genes. The nonmuscle isoforms included the beta-cytoplasmic actin gene and an actin gene fragment which lacked the 5' coding and flanking sequence; presumably, this region of DNA was removed from this gene during construction of the genomic library. Unexpectedly, a third nonmuscle chicken actin gene was found which resembled the amphibian type 5 actin isoform (J. Vandekerckhove, W. W. Franke, and K. Weber, J. Mol. Biol., 152:413-426). This nonmuscle actin type has not been previously detected in warm-blooded vertebrates. We showed that interspersed, repeated DNA sequences closely flanked the alpha-skeletal, alpha-cardiac, beta-, and type 5-like actin genes. The repeated DNA sequences which surround the alpha-skeletal actin-coding regions were not related to repetitious DNA located on the other actin genes. Analysis of genomic DNA blots showed that the chicken actin multigene family was represented by 8 to 10 separate coding loci. The six isolated actin genes corresponded to 7 of 11 genomic EcoRI fragments. Only the alpha-smooth muscle actin gene was shown to be split by an EcoRI site. Thus, in the chicken genome each actin isoform appeared to be encoded by a single gene.     

Identification of two nuclear factor-binding domains on the chicken cardiac actin promoter: implications for regulation of the gene.

The cis-acting regions that appear to be involved in negative regulation of the chicken alpha-cardiac actin promoter both in vivo and in vitro have been identified. A nuclear factor(s) binding to the proximal region mapped over the TATA element between nucleotides -50 and -25. In the distal region, binding spanned nucleotides -136 to -112, a region that included a second CArG box (CArG2) 5' to the more familiar CCAAT-box (CArG1) consensus sequence. Nuclear factors binding to these different domains were found in both muscle and nonmuscle preparations but were detectable at considerably lower levels in tissues expressing the alpha-cardiac actin gene. In contrast, concentrations of the beta-actin CCAAT-box binding activity were similar in all extracts tested. The role of these factor-binding domains on the activity of the cardiac actin promoter in vivo and in vitro and the prevalence of the binding factors in nonmuscle extracts are consistent with the idea that these binding domains and their associated factors are involved in the tissue-restricted expression of cardiac actin through both positive and negative regulatory mechanisms. In the absence of negative regulatory factors, these same binding domains act synergistically, via other factors, to activate the cardiac actin promoter during myogenesis.     

Nucleotide sequences of heat shock activated genes in Drosophila melanogaster. I. Sequences in the regions of the 5' and 3' ends of the hsp 70 gene in the hybrid plasmid 56H8.

We present the sequences at the 5' and 3' ends of one hsp 70 gene variant which is derived from the chromosomal locus 87A7. The 5' end of the hsp 70 mRNA has also been determined. 550 bp upstream from the 5' end of the hsp 70 mRNA, there is a very A+T rich region shown by heteroduplex analysis to be also present at the same position in other hsp 70 genes9. The 5' end of the hsp 70 mRNA was found 26 bp after a characteristic "Hogness box". The first ATG codon was found 250 bp downstream from the 5' end of the hsp 70 mRNA. We also determined the termination codon at the 3' end of the hsp 70 gene. Comparisons with other genes are discussed.     

Primary structure of Bacillus subtilis enolase gene deduced from c-DNA sequence

The nucleotide sequence for enolase gene of Bacillus subtilis was determined from recombinant clone pRE. The sequence was composed of 1570 bp which included the 1374 bp of the complete coding region, the 86 bp of the 5' noncoding region and the 110 bp of the 3' noncoding region containing a polyadenylation signal. In addition, the poly(A) tail was also found. A potential ribosome binding site was located 20 nucleotides upstream of the initiation codon in the 5' noncoding region. The aminoacid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence was 558 aminoacids in length. The size of the mRNA was 1.5 kb by the northern transfer technique.     

The nucleotide sequence of the chick cytoplasmic beta-actin gene

The nucleotide sequence of the chick beta-actin gene was determined. The gene contains 5 introns; 4 interrupt the translated region at codons 41/42, 120/122, 267, 327/328 and a large intron occurs in the 5' untranslated region. The gene has a 97 nucleotide 5'-untranslated region and a 594 nucleotide 3'-untranslated region. A slight heterogeneity in the position of the poly A addition site exists; polyadenylation can occur at either of two positions two nucleotides apart. The gene codes for an mRNA of 1814 or 1816 nucleotides, excluding the poly(A) tail. In contrast to the chick skeletal muscle actin gene the beta-actin gene lacks the Cys codon between the initiator ATG and the codon for the N-terminal amino acid of the mature protein. In the 5' flanking DNA, 15 nucleotides downstream from the CCAAT sequence, is a tract of 25 nucleotides that is highly homologous to the sequence found in the same region of the rat beta-actin gene.