A melanocyte-specific gene, Pmel 17, maps near the silver coat color locus on mouse chromosome 10 and is in a syntenic region on human chromosome 12 ( ABSTRACTMelanocytes preferentially express an mRNA species, Pmel 17, whose protein product cross-reacts with anti-tyrosinase antibodies and whose expression correlates with the melanin content. We have now analyzed the deduced protein structure and mapped its chromosomal location in mouse and human. The amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the Pmel 17 cDNA showed that the protein is composed of 645 amino acids with a molecular weight of 68,600. The Pmel 17 protein contains a putative leader sequence and a potential membrane anchor segment, which indicates that this may be a membrane-associated protein in melanocytes. The deduced protein contains five potential N-glycosylation sites and relatively high levels of serine and threonine. Three repeats of a 26-amino acid motif appear in the middle of the molecule. The human Pmel 17 gene, designated D12S53E, maps to chromosome 12, region 12pter-q21; and the mouse homologue, designated D12S53Eh, maps to the distal region of mouse chromosome 10, a region also known to carry the coat color locus si (silver).

This laboratory has established in previous studies that Pmel 17, a gene expressed specifically in melanocytes, maps near the silver coat color locus (si/si) on mouse chromosome 10. In the current study, we have focused on determining whether or not the si allele carries a mutation in Pmel 17. Pmel 17 cDNA clones, isolated from wild-type and si/si murine melanocyte cDNA libraries, were sequenced and compared. A single nucleotide (A) insertion was found in the putative cytoplasmic tail of the si/si Pmel 17 cDNA clone. This insertion is predicted to alter the last 24 amino acids at the C-terminus. Also predicted is the extension of the Pmel 17 protein by 12 residues because a new termination signal created downstream from the wild-type reading frame. The mutation was confirmed by the sequence of the PCR-amplified genomic region flanking and including the mutation site. The fact that si/si Pmel 17 was not recognized by antibodies directed toward the C-terminal 15 amino acids of wild-type Pmel 17, indicated a defect in this region. We conclude from these results that silver pmel 17 protein has a major defect at the carboxyl terminus. The chromosomal location and the identification of a potentially pathologic mutation in si-Pmel 17 support our conclusion that Pmel 17 is encoded at the silver locus.

The meiosis-specific gene HOP1, which encodes a component of the synaptonemal complex, is controlled through two regulatory elements, UAS H and URS1 H . Sites similar to URS1 H have been identified in the promoter region of virtually every early meiosis-specific gene, as well as in many promoters of nonmeiotic genes, and it has been shown that the proteins that bind to this site function to regulate meiotic and nonmeiotic transcription. Sites similar to the UAS H site have been found in a number of meiotic and nonmeiotic genes as well. Since it has been shown that UAS H functions as an activator site in vegetative haploid cells, it seemed likely that the factors binding to this site regulate both meiotic and nonmeiotic transcription. We purified the factor binding to the UAS H element of the HOP1 promoter. Sequence analysis identified the protein as Abf1

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We have determined a molecular defect to be the likely basis for inactivity of the tyrosinase (EC 1.14.18.1) from a patient with tyrosinase-negative oculocutaneous albinism. A single base (thymine) was inserted in exon 5 of the tyrosinase gene following codon 471 in the putative transmembrane coding region. This insertion caused a shift in the reading frame of 19 amino acids at the 3' end and introduced a premature termination signal that would be expected to truncate the protein by 21 amino acids at the carboxyl terminus. The albino tyrosinase was not recognized by antibodies directed to the carboxyl terminus of tyrosinase. Furthermore, as shown by gel electrophoresis of the immunoprecipitated protein, the tyrosinase was =3 kDa smaller than normal. Similar immunoprecipitation data were obtained when cloned normal and mutant tyrosinases were expressed in COS-1 cells.