Structure of the promoter for chicken alpha 2 type I collagen gene.

The chicken alpha 2 type I collagen gene is 38 kilobases long and its coding information is subdivided into more than 50 exons. In the current study, we used primer extension and S1 nuclease mapping to determine the sequence of the 5' end of alpha 2 collagen mRNA and to locate the start site for transcription of the alpha 2 collagen gene. The DNA sequence around the start site for transcription shows a typical Goldberg-Hogness sequence, 5' T-A-T-A-A-A-T 3', between -33 and -26 and a 5' G-C-C-C-A-T-T 3' sequence ("CAT" box) between -84 and -78. Three AUGs are found in the initial portion of the mRNA, the first from +54 to +56, the second from +117 to +119, and the third from +134 to +136. The first two AUGs are followed by short coding sequences that could specify a hexapeptide a tetrapeptide, respectively. Only the third AUG is followed by an open reading frame coding for a sequence that presents considerable homology with the previously determined amino acid sequence of prepro alpha 1 collagen. In the promoter region sequence there are several extensive dyads of symmetry. Three of these inverted repeats which precede the start site for transcription overlap each other and may have a role in the developmental regulation of this gene.