TUBA8: A New Tissue-Specific Isoform of 
-Tubulin That Is Highly Conserved in Human and Mouse
Authors: Stanchi F.1; Corso V.1; Scannapieco P.1; Ievolella C.1; Negrisolo E.2; Tiso N.2; Lanfranchi G.1; Valle G.1
Source: Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Volume 270, Number 3, April 2000 , pp. 1111-1118(8)
Publisher: Academic Press
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Abstract:
We have cloned and sequenced a cDNA from a human adult skeletal muscle cDNA library, encoding for a novel isoform of -tubulin (tuba8) that is preferentially expressed in heart, skeletal muscle, and testis. A genomic DNA sequence from the chromosomal region 22q11 allowed us to determine the complete structure of the TUBA8 gene that mirrors the canonical exon/intron organization of the vertebrate -tubulin genes. We also cloned and sequenced the cDNA of its murine homologue (MMU-TUBA8). The latter encodes for a protein that differs from its human counterpart in only three amino acids, revealing an extreme rate of conservation that is even extended to both the 3
and 5 UTRs of the mRNAs. Sequence comparison of these novel isoforms with other known alpha tubulins shows that tuba8 is the most divergent member of the mammalian -tubulin family. The sequence peculiarity of the human and murine tuba8 strongly suggests that they might have functional significance and, according to the multi-tubulin hypothesis, that they might play specific functional roles in the cell cytoskeleton. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.
Language: English
Document Type: Research article
Affiliations: 1: CRIBI Biotechnology Center 2: CRIBI Biotechnology Center, Dipartimento di Biologia, Università degli Studi di Padova, viale G. Colombo 3, Padua, 35121, Italy
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