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. 1984 Apr;81(7):1936–1940. doi: 10.1073/pnas.81.7.1936

Evidence for a human histone gene cluster containing H2B and H2A pseudogenes.

F Marashi, K Prokopp, J Stein, G Stein
PMCID: PMC345411  PMID: 6326092

Abstract

Not all members of the human histone gene family are functional. We have isolated a human H2B pseudogene that contains alterations in the protein-coding sequences as well as in the 3' and 5' flanking sequences that preclude expression of a functional H2B histone protein. There are three modifications in the amino acid-coding region: a single-base deletion producing a frame shift, a single-base substitution resulting in a codon change from serine to tryptophan (an amino acid not present in histones), and the absence of a stop codon. Analysis of nucleotide sequences upstream from the AUG start signal indicates the absence of a "TATA" box and other putative consensus regulatory sequences. In the 3' flanking region, a highly conserved block of 22 nucleotides that exhibits hyphenated dyad symmetry is displaced downstream. Within the same genomic segment, the adjacent H2A histone gene is missing 12 nucleotides, resulting in a deletion of four amino acids in a highly conserved region of the protein.

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Selected References

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