Chromosomal sublocalization of the transcribed human telomere repeat binding factor 2 gene and comparative mapping in the mouse

Telomere repeat binding factor 2 (TERF2) is one of two recently cloned mamm alian telomere binding protein genes. TERF2 binds as a dimer with high affi nity to the double-stranded TTAGGG telomeric repent through an evolutionari ly conserved myb-type DNA binding domain. TERF2 prevents telomere end-to-en d-fusion and may be important in. maintaining genomic stability. We localiz ed the transcribed TERF2 gene to human chromosome 16q22.1, tightly linked t o the EST HUM000S343. The mouse Terf2 gene is situated by itself in a newly defined "bin" on chromosome 8 one crossover distal to Psm 10 and Sntb2, Hu man TERF2 and mouse Terf2 are therefore part of a large evolutionarily cons erved linkage group comprised of at feast 25 known paralogous genes between human chromosome 16q and mouse chromosome 8.