CLONING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF 4 MURINE HOMEOBOX GENES

Four novel murine homeobox genes, Uncx-4.1, OG-2, OG-9, and OG-12, wer e cloned and partially sequenced, The amino acid sequence of the mouse Uncx-4.1 homeodomain is closely related to the sequence of the unc-4 homeodomain of Caenorhabditis elegans, However, the OG-2, OG-9, and OG -12 homeodomains are relatively diverged and are not closely related t o any previously described homeodomain, Northern blot analyses reveale d multiple bands of Uncx-4.1, OG-2, OG-9, and OG-12 poly(A)(+) RNA in RNA from mouse embryos and adults that change during development and s howed that each gene is expressed in a tissue-specific manner, OG-12 c DNAs were cloned that correspond to two alternatively spliced species of OG-12 mRNA, Three major bands of Uncx-4.1 poly(A)(+) RNA were found only in RNA from adult mouse brain, but an additional band was observ ed in RNA from all of the other tissues tested, Major bands of OG-9 an d OG-2 poly(A)(+) RNA were found only in RNA from striated muscle; how ever, trace bands were detected in RNA from other tissues.