Molecular cloning and sequence analysis of a cDNA coding for the mouse alpha-like embryonic globin chain x.

Cytoplasmic poly(A)+mRNA from 12-day mouse-yolk-sac erythroid cells has been used to prepare a cDNA library in the plasmid pBR322. One clone containing sequences coding for the alpha-like embryonic globin chain x, pHE52, has been identified by hybrid selection and in vitro translation of the complementary mRNA. The nucleotide sequence of pHE52 confirms that it codes for an embryonic alpha-like globin chain. The insert sequence is 316 nucleotides long, contains the codons corresponding to amino acid residues 43-141, and extends into the 3' untranslated region. An analysis of the nucleotide sequence of pHE52 and the other known alpha globins suggests that the adult-embryonic divergence began approx. 400 million years ago reflecting a difference in the evolutionary history of the alpha- and beta-globin gene complexes.