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Molecular Cloning and Characterization of Mammalian Homologues of theDrosophila retinal degeneration BGene,☆☆

https://doi.org/10.1006/bbrc.1997.7009Get rights and content

Abstract

Null mutations in theretinal degeneration Bgene (rdgB) in flies result in an activity-dependent retinal degeneration. Here we report the isolation of the mouse and human homologues ofrdgBgene that are strongly expressed in brain and moderately expressed in other tissues. The deduced amino acid sequences encoding a 1244 a.a protein bear a 96 % similarity between mouse and human and resemble theDrosophila rdgB,particularly in the phosphatidylinositol transfer domain at the N-terminus and in six putative transmembrane domains at the C-terminus. Immunoblots with antiserum raised against a bacterially expressed fragment of the mouserdgBshowed the band with a molecular weight of about 170 kDa. Interestingly, a burst of mouserdgBexpression occurs on 17th day of gestation, suggesting a crucial role of the gene product in brain development at this particular stage. A gene,mpt-1,encoding for mouserdgBwas mapped to the proximal end of chromosome 19, which is the same location asMvb-1,a gene locus encoding the modifier of mousevibrator mutation(mv).

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Thempt-1nucleotide sequences and amino acids sequences reported in this article have been submitted to GenBank under Accession No. AF006467.

☆☆

Abbreviations: rdgB, retinal degeneration B genePITP, phosphatidylinositol transfer protein; mpt-1, gene encoding a mouse membrane-associated phosphatidylinositol transfer protein;

2

These two authors equally contributed to the present work.

3

Correspondence should be addressed to Dr. Takeshi Watanabe, Department of Molecular Immunology, Medical Institute of Bioregulation, Kyusyu University. 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka 812-82, Japan. Fax 81-92-632-1499. E-mail: watanabe@bioreg. kyusyu-u.ac.jp.

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