The Cloning of Mouse Globin and Surrounding Gene Sequences in Bacteriophage

Abstract

We have developed a rather straightforward procedure that brings virtually any segment of the mammalian genome within cloning range of a very versatile EK2 bacteriophage λ vector. We illustrate the procedure in terms of cloning a segment of the mouse genome containing a β-like globin gene and its surrounding sequences. Surprisingly, the sequence cloned does not contain a continuous representation of the globin messenger RNA (mRNA) sequence, but instead is interrupted about two-thirds through by an approximately 550-base-long intervening sequence. The significance of this structure and its possible generality are discussed together with the notion that single polypeptide chains may be encoded by discrete and separate gene sequences.