CHARACTERIZATION OF THE HUMAN JUMONJI GENE

(W)hile constructing a cDNA library of human embryos, we have isolated a clone homologous to jumonji, a mouse gene required for neural tube formation, We have determined the complete coding sequence of the huma n homologue (JMJ) and deduced the amino acid sequence of the putative protein, We show here that human and mouse jumonji putative proteins a re homologous and present 90% identity, During human embryogenesis, JM J mRNAs are predominantly expressed in neurons and particularly in dor sal root ganglion cells. They are also expressed in neurons of human a dult cerebral cortex, In view of these observations, we propose JMJ as a candidate gene for developmental defects of the central nervous sys tem in the human, The human JMJ gene maps at position 6p24-6p23.