Mouse Glutathione S-Transferase Ya Subunit: Gene Structure and Sequence

A mouse glutathione S-transferase gene encoding the Ya subunit was isolated and sequenced. The gene spans about 11 kb, contains seven exons, and encodes an mRNA of 841 nucleotides. Promoter elements, TATA and CAAT box sequences, were located 32 and 70 nucleotides upstream from the initiation of transcription site. The mRNA coding sequences of the mouse gene were highly homologous to a rat liver Ya mRNA species detected by cDNA cloning. The mouse Ya gene produces a 223-amino-acid polypeptide that differs from the 222-amino-acid rat Ya by 10 amino acid substitutions and a carboxyl terminus Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln instead of Phe-Lys-Phe. A genomic clone containing the last three exons of the rat Ya gene was also isolated, sequenced, and compared with the mouse Ya gene. An extensive sequence conservation (70–80%) in the 50 to 200 bases of introns at the exon–intron junctions as well as in the region beyond the cleavage–polyadenylation site of pre-mRNA was observed.