A minor globin gene of the bivalve mollusc Anadara trapezia.

A minor haemoglobin gene was isolated from an Anadara trapezia genomic library using a synthetic oligonucleotide probe based on the identical amino acid sequence of the F-helical region of all the major Anadara globins previously sequenced. The amino acid sequence inferred from the coding region of the gene indicated that it is different from that of the three major chains alpha, beta and gamma, but most like the beta-chain. This beta-variant sequence shows 100% homology in the conserved F-helix region. The minor gene was found to contain two long intervening sequences, 1214 bp and 1435 bp, longer than those present in the genes for vertebrate globins or leghaemoglobins but shorter than those in myoglobin genes.