STRUCTURE OF THE MOUSE ARYLSULFATASE-A GENE AND CDNA

The murine arylsulfatase A (ARSA) gene and cDNA have been cloned and s equenced. The gene is 3.8 kb long and contains eight exons. All intron /exon splice junctions conform to the GT/AG consensus sequence. The ge nomic structure is similar to that of the human gene. One major RNA sp ecies of 3.2 kb is transcribed. This RNA species has a 5' untranslated region of 638 nucleotides and terminates in a region around nucleotid e 700 downstream of the termination codon. In addition, a rare mRNA sp ecies terminating at a polyadenylation signal 135 nucleotides downstre am of the termination codon has been found. A larger transcript of 4 k b can be detected in liver. The size difference is due to initiation o f transcription 5' of the cap site of the 3.2-kb mRNA species. The ent ire ARSA cDNA has been cloned by PCR from reverse-transcribed RNA. The coding sequence has 1518 nucleotides and predicts a protein of 506 am ino acids. The nucleotide as well as the amino acid sequence is highly conserved among humans and mice. (C) 1994 Academic Press, Inc.