Polymorphism in an androgen-regulated mouse gene is the result of the insertion of a B1 repetitive element into the transcription unit.

The single-copy RP2 gene in mice produces three major mRNAs, the abundances of which are significantly increased in the kidneys by the administration of testosterone. S1 nuclease analysis of the kidney mRNAs indicated that they differ in the lengths of their 3' untranslated regions as a result of the use of different polyadenylation sites. When the mRNAs from different inbred mouse strains were examined by Northern blot analysis, it was observed that the largest mRNA varies in size, whereas the sizes of the other mRNAs remain the same. In DBA/LiHa and DBA/2J mice, the largest mRNA is approximately 2,150 nucleotides long, whereas the corresponding mRNA in C57BL/6J and BALB/cJ mice is only 1,950 nucleotides in length. All of these strains also have RP2 mRNAs that are 1,450 and 1,350 nucleotides long. By S1 nuclease mapping and comparison of the sequence of cDNA clones representing these mRNAs in DBA/LiHa and C57BL/6J mice, we determined that this size difference or polymorphism observed in the largest mRNA is the result of the insertion of a member of the B1 family of repeats into the 3' untranslated region of the RP2 gene in DBA mice. This particular B1 repeat is transcribed by RNA polymerase III in vitro, and its transcriptional orientation is opposite to that of the RP2 transcript. The polymorphism described here is evidence for the mobility of B1 repetitive elements within the genome.