Organization and nucleotide sequence of rainbow trout histone H2A and H3 genes.

A 2.56-kbp fragment containing genes coding for histones H2A and H3 that forms a portion of the 10.2-kbp cluster containing all five histone genes isolated from a lambda-Charon 4A library of rainbow trout genomic DNA has been characterized in detail and its complete nucleotide sequence determined. The genes are arranged in tandem, being encoded on the same DNA strand. They are separated by 380 bp of intergenic spacer DNA that contains an alternating purine-pyrimidine stretch of 20 bp and a 46-bp stretch that has the potential of forming a triple cruciform structure. The histone genes contain no introns, have the RNA polymerase II promoter-associated signals known as CAAT and TATA boxes in their 5' flanking regions and contain a conserved inverted repeat sequence, similar to that found in histone genes of other species, capable of forming a hairpin structure at the 3' end of the transcription unit.