Cloning of 11 alpha-tubulin gene sequences from the genome of Chinese hamster ovary cells.

We have analyzed the complex tubulin gene family in clonal lines of Chinese hamster ovary cells. There are approximately 16 alpha-tubulin genes and a similar multiplicity of beta-tubulin genes. The alpha-tubulin genes are not closely linked to each other nor to the beta-tubulin genes. A genomic library has been constructed in the vector lambda charon 4A containing insert sizes of 13-20 kilobases. The library has been screened with both inter- and intra-species alpha-tubulin probes. Eleven alpha-tubulin clones with different restriction patterns have been isolated and characterized. At least seven of these clones contain the complete gene coding region. One clone appears to represent the transcribed alpha-tubulin gene II. The sequence of an intron from this gene is compared with that from an equivalent gene in the rat.