CLONING OF CDNA AND GENOMIC STRUCTURE OF THE MOUSE GAMMA-GLUTAMYL TRANSPEPTIDASE-ENCODING GENE

We have isolated and characterized cDNA and genomic clones containing the coding region for the mouse gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT). T he sequences of the full-length cDNAs for three of the seven known mou se Ggt RNAs (types I, II and III) were determined and found to be iden tical in the coding region. Comparisons of the deduced amino-acid sequ ence of mouse GGT with that of rat and human reveal 95 and 79% overall identities, respectively. The mouse Ggt gene has 12 coding exons and spans approx. 12 kb. We have also re-analyzed rat genomic Ggt clones p reviously isolated by us and found that the rat and mouse genes share the same intron/exon boundaries. Our findings are of interest because they define the structure of the mouse and rat Ggt genes and will allo w comparison with human GGT genes which, recent findings suggest, have diverged substantially from rodents.