Whitfeld P L, Seeburg P H, Shine J
DNA. 1982;1(2):133-43. doi: 10.1089/dna.1.1982.1.133.
The human pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) gene has been characterized by molecular cloning and DNA sequence analysis. Although this gene codes for several different polypeptide hormones, only a single intron interrupts the protein coding region. The DNA in this intron, and in a second intron found in the region of the gene homologous to the mRNA 5'-untranslated sequence, contains repetitive DNA sequences. At least some of these sequences belong to the Alu family of transcribed middle repetitive DNA. The determination of the complete nucleotide sequence of the coding regions of the gene demonstrates that the pattern of homologous and variable regions seen in the POMC protein between different species is reflected at the DNA level. DNA sequences encoding the highly conserved regions of POMC are 90-95% homologous between species while the coding sequences for the variable regions of the protein are approximately 70% homologous. The very high degree of homology in the amino terminal portion of POMC is consistent with an important physiological role for this peptide.
人类促阿片-黑素细胞皮质素原（POMC）基因已通过分子克隆和DNA序列分析得以表征。尽管该基因编码几种不同的多肽激素，但只有一个内含子中断蛋白质编码区。此内含子以及在该基因中与mRNA 5'-非翻译序列同源区域发现的第二个内含子中的DNA，包含重复DNA序列。这些序列中至少有一些属于转录的中度重复DNA的Alu家族。该基因编码区完整核苷酸序列的测定表明，不同物种间POMC蛋白中所见的同源和可变区模式在DNA水平上得到了反映。编码POMC高度保守区的DNA序列在物种间的同源性为90-95%，而该蛋白可变区的编码序列同源性约为70%。POMC氨基末端部分的高度同源性与其该肽段重要的生理作用相符。
