cDNA cloning of run, a Caenorhabditis elegans Runt domain encoding gene.

PEBP2/CBF is a heterodimeric transcription factor composed of alpha and beta subunits. The essential roles of mammalian PEBP2alpha genes, PEBP2aA/CBFA1 and PEBP2alphaB/CBFA2 in osteogenesis and hematopoiesis have been well documented. The PEBP2alpha proteins contain a 128 amino acid (aa) region which is highly homologous to Drosophila melanogaster runt and lozenge. The evolutionarily conserved region has been named the Runt domain. In this study, we isolated a cDNA encoding the Caenorhabditis elegans homolog of mammalian PEBP2alpha. The cDNA encodes a 301-aa protein with a highly conserved Runt domain. In addition, a IWRPF five aa motif is present at the C-terminal end.