Premium
Human acetylcholinesterase gene is homologous to the ace locus in drosophila
Author(s) -
Soreq Hermona,
ZevinSonkin Dina,
Avnl Adi,
Hall Lucinda,
Spierer Pierre
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
international journal of developmental neuroscience
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.761
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1873-474X
pISSN - 0736-5748
DOI - 10.1016/0736-5748(85)90112-1
Subject(s) - library science , locus (genetics) , computer science , genetics , gene , biology
Hermona Sore%*, Dina Zevin-Sonkin*, Adi Avni*, Lucinda Hall' and Pierre Spierer'. Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel* and University of Geneva, Switzerland'. The enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) terminates impulse transmission by hydrolysing acetylcholine. The tkX locus in l.kObOpkiea controls AChE activity, and a particular 10.5 Kb SalI-cut fragment from this locus was found to be directly correlated with AChE biosynthesis. We analysed the transcription products of this fragment using microinjected oocytes of Xenopus laevd, in which AChEmRNA is translated into active AChE. A 2.0 Kb EcoRl fragment within this region was found to hybridize with AChEmRNA by comparison of Northern blot hybridization to sucrose gradient fractionation of mRNA followed by oocyte microinjection and zyxwvutsrqponmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA AChE bioassay. This Ace DNA fragment was then employed as a probe to select a homologous Charon 4a-cloned human genomic DNA sequence, designated Hu.Acel. This DNA fragment hybridizes with a brain mRNA species of CU. TKb,which is low in AChE-deficient issues. A similar size was found for the oocyte-translatable AChEmRNA from human brain. When bound to nitrocellulose, both Ace DNAs hybridize with oocyte-translatable AChEmRNA. All this, in addition to the homology between t(u.Accl and Ukobopkiea Ace, strongly suggests that the ffu.Acel fragment is derived from the human acetylcholinesterase gene, and opens up a number of new molecular approaches to studying the regulation of AChE in cholinergic synapses and its role in nervous system development.