GENOMIC AND CDNA STRUCTURES OF THE GENE ENCODING THE CHICKEN ZF5 DNA-BINDING PROTEIN

Genomic and cDNA clones encoding the chicken ZF5 transcription factor were isolated and sequenced. Conceptual translation of the cDNAs indic ates that chicken ZF5 has five zinc fingers at its C-terminal end and a POZ/BTB protein-interaction domain at its N-terminal end. These two functional domains are more than 99% identical in amino acid sequence between the chicken and mouse proteins, whereas the region separating the POZ/BTB and DNA binding domains is only 74% identical. The entire 458 amino acid open reading frame is contained within a single exon, e xcept for the initiator methionine codon which alone is supplied from an upstream exon by mRNA splicing.