The nucleotide sequence of A cDNA for the rat Ia-A α chain

• Main Author: Wallis, Anne Elizabeth
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/24044

The Ir genes of the Major Histocompatibility Complex have been shown to play an important role in the ability of an individual to produce an immune response. The products of the Ir genes, the Ia antigens, are highly homologous between species. To understand the structure and function of the Ia antigens it is necessary to examine the Ia molecules and the Ir genes which code for them both within and between species. The nucleotide sequence of a cDNA which corresponded to the 3' end of the Rat Ia-A α chain was determined. Comparison of this cDNA sequence with cDNA sequences from other species (mouse and human) showed that there was a much higher degree of sequence identity between the Ir gene products of equivalent loci between species than that observed between the Ir gene products of homologous loci within a species. This indicates that the duplication which gave rise to the homologous Ir gene loci occurred before the divergence of rodents and mammals. === Medicine, Faculty of === Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Department of === Graduate