Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1983 Jun;33(2):477-87.
doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(83)90429-4.

Evolutionary history of a multigene family: an expressed human beta-tubulin gene and three processed pseudogenes

M G Lee, S A Lewis, C D Wilde, N J Cowan

Evolutionary history of a multigene family: an expressed human beta-tubulin gene and three processed pseudogenes

M G Lee et al. Cell. 1983 Jun.

Abstract

A 3' untranslated region subclone from a human beta-tubulin cDNA clone has been used to dissect the human beta-tubulin multigene family. Four different beta-tubulin sequences were obtained. One consists of an expressed gene that yields two mRNA species of 1.8 kb and 2.6 kb as a consequence of alternative polyadenylation sites. The three remaining beta-tubulin sequences are all intronless pseudogenes, each containing a 3' poly(A) tract downstream from the poly(A) signal, and each flanked by a different short direct repeat. Two of these sequences were derived by integration into the host germ line of cDNA copies of the 1.8 kb mRNA; the third was derived from the 2.6 kb mRNA. Comparison of the functional and nonfunctional sequences suggests that the integration events took place 4, 10, and 13 million years ago. We anticipate that, in multigene families where germ-line expression occurs, a significant portion of sequences will be accounted for by pseudogenes generated via an RNA intermediate.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources