Cloning and sequencing of mRNAs coding for two adult alpha globin chains of the salamander Pleurodeles waltlii.

A cDNA library of erythrocyte mRNAs was established from immature red blood cells of the adult amphibian, Pleurodeles waltlii (urodele; salamander). The cDNA clones corresponding to the four adult globin chains were first identified and characterized by positive selection and the cDNAs derived from the two (major and minor) alpha-globin chains sequenced. The sequences presented contain both the complete 3'-noncoding region and the coding region of both chains, with the exception of the first nine codons of the minor alpha-chain, and a portion of the 5'-noncoding region of the major chain. The amino acid sequences of the encoded alpha-globin polypeptides have been deduced and compared with those of Xenopus laevis and of man. These comparative studies suggest that the alpha-globins of Pleurodeles waltlii and Xenopus laevis may have diverged from a common ancestral gene at the time when mammalian and amphibian lines diverged, and that they then evolved separately. Duplication of the alpha-gene, which is responsible for the polypeptide heterogeneity, appears to have occurred earlier in Pleurodeles waltlii than in Xenopus laevis.