Nucleotide sequence, evolution, and expression of the fetal globin gene of the spider monkey Ateles geoffroyi.

The single gamma-globin gene of the New World spider monkey Ateles geoffroyi is similar to other primate genes of the beta-globin gene cluster ("beta-like" globin genes). The number of nonsynonymous nucleotide substitutions between the coding regions of Ateles and other primate gamma-globin genes suggests that the Platyrrhine and Catarrhine evolutionary lines diverged approximately equal to 40 million years ago, an estimate reasonably consistent with the fossil record. However, the number of synonymous coding region and noncoding base differences is much smaller than predicted by various molecular "clocks." This suggests that the rate of synonymous coding and noncoding base substitution has not been constant per absolute time in primate lineages. Expression of the cloned Ateles gamma-globin gene in cultured monkey cells showed that the sequence AAUAAA near the mRNA 3' terminus is not sufficient to define the site of transcript polyadenylylation.