Gene structure and chromosomal localization of mouse cyclin G2 (Ccng2)

Cyclins are essential activators of cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdk) which, in turn, play pivotal roles in controlling transition through cell-cycle checkpoints. Cyclin G2 is a recently discovered second member of the G-type cyclins. The two members of the G-type cyclins, cyclin G1 and cyclin G2, share high structural similarity but their function remains to be defined. Here we characterize the structure of the mouse cyclin G2 gene by first cloning and sequencing the full-length mouse cyclin G2 cDNA. The cyclin G2 cDNA was used to isolate the cyclin G2 gene from a BAC library and to establish that the gene was transcribed from eight exons spanning a total of 8604 bp. The cyclin G2 gene was mapped by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to mouse chromosome 5E3.3.–F1.3. This region is syntenic to a region on human chromosome 4. The expression of cyclins G1 and G2 was examined in various tissues, but no correlation between expression patterns of the two genes was observed. However, during hepatic ontogenesis the cyclin G2 expression level decreased with age, whereas cyclin G1 expression increased. Transient expression of cyclin G2-green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion protein in NIH3T3 cells showed that cyclin G2 is essentially a cytoplasmic protein, in contrast to the largely nuclear localization of cyclin G1. Our data suggest that, despite the close structural similarity between mouse cyclins G1 and G2, these proteins most likely perform distinct functions.