A Map of 75 Human Ribosomal Protein Genes

  1. Naoya Kenmochi1,3,4,
  2. Tomoko Kawaguchi1,
  3. Steve Rozen1,2,
  4. Elizabeth Davis1,
  5. Nathan Goodman2,
  6. Thomas J. Hudson2,
  7. Tatsuo Tanaka3, and
  8. David C. Page1,2,4
  1. 1Howard Hughes Medical Institute and 2Center for Genome Research, Whitehead Institute and Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02142 USA; 3Department of Biochemistry, School of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa 903-01, Japan

Abstract

We mapped 75 genes that collectively encode >90% of the proteins found in human ribosomes. Because localization of ribosomal protein genes (rp genes) is complicated by the existence of processed pseudogenes, multiple strategies were devised to identify PCR-detectable sequence-tagged sites (STSs) at introns. In some cases we exploited specific, pre-existing information about the intron/exon structure of a given human rp gene or its homolog in another vertebrate. When such information was unavailable, selection of PCR primer pairs was guided by general insights gleaned from analysis of all mammalian rp genes whose intron/exon structures have been published. For many genes, PCR amplification of introns was facilitated by use of YAC pool DNAs rather than total human genomic DNA as templates. We then assigned the rp gene STSs to individual human chromosomes by typing human–rodent hybrid cell lines. The genes were placed more precisely on the physical map of the human genome by typing of radiation hybrids or screening YAC libraries. Fifty-one previously unmapped rp genes were localized, and 24 previously reported rp gene localizations were confirmed, refined, or corrected. Though functionally related and coordinately expressed, the 75 mapped genes are widely dispersed: Both sex chromosomes and at least 20 of the 22 autosomes carry one or more rp genes. Chromosome 19, known to have a high gene density, contains an unusually large number of rp genes (12). This map provides a foundation for the study of the possible roles of ribosomal protein deficiencies in chromosomal and Mendelian disorders.

[The sequence data described in this paper have been submitted to GenBank. They are listed in Table 1.]

Footnotes

  • 4 Corresponding authors.

  • E-MAIL page{at}wi.mit.edu; FAX (617) 258-5578.

  • E-MAIL kenmochi{at}med.u-ryuku.ac.jp; FAX 81-98-895-7049.

    • Received January 1, 1998.
    • Accepted March 13, 1998.
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