Organization and evolution of the rat tyrosine hydroxylase gene

ER Brown, GT Coker III, KL O'Malley - Biochemistry, 1987 - ACS Publications
ER Brown, GT Coker III, KL O'Malley
Biochemistry, 1987ACS Publications
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University Medical School, St. Louis,
Missouri 63110 Received January 26, 1987; Revised Manuscript Received March 5, 1987
abstract: This report describes the organization of the rat tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene
and compares its structure with the human phenylalanine hydroxylase gene. Both genes are
single copy and contain 13 exons separated by 12 introns. Remarkably, the positions of 10
out of 12 intron/exon boundaries are identical for the two genes. These results support the …
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Washington University Medical School, St. Louis, Missouri 63110 Received January 26, 1987; Revised Manuscript Received March 5, 1987 abstract: This report describes the organization of the rat tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) gene and compares its structure with the human phenylalanine hydroxylase gene. Both genes are single copy and contain 13 exons separated by 12 introns. Remarkably, the positions of 10 out of 12 intron/exon boundaries are identical for the two genes. These results support the idea that these hydroxylase genes are members of a gene family which has a common evolutionary origin. We predict that this ancestral gene would haveencoded exons similar to those of TH prior to evolutionary drift to other members of this gene family.
ACS Publications