Abstract
The gene for the β-subunit of rat thyrotropin has been isolated from a library of rat DNA fragments cloned in bacteriophage λ. The complete nucleotide sequence of the gene has been determined including a portion of 5′- and 3′-flanking regions. The rat TSH-β gene contains approximately 4879 nucleotides which ultimately lead to the production of a mRNA of about 554 nucleotides, exclusive of the 3′ poly(A) tract. The first exon which represents only 5′ untranslated sequences of the mRNA, is separated from the second exon by a very large, 3.9-kbp intervening sequence. The second and third exons are separated by a small, 377-bp intervening sequence. Southern blot analysis of total genomic DNA demonstrated that the rat genome contains sequences similar to the cloned gene, suggesting that no rearrangements occurred during the cloning process.
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