The structure of the gene encoding chicken ribosomal protein L37a.

The nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding chicken ribosomal protein L37a was determined. The gene was 2626 bp long and distributed in four exons and three introns. The transcription initiation site is located at a cytidine residue in a tract of 16 pyrimidines flanked by (G + C)-rich regions. Neither canonical TATA nor the CAAT box was found in the 5'-flanking region. The region from nucleotides -78 to -35 was shown to be important for promoter activity and also to be a binding site for nuclear proteins. This region contains two copies of the sequence [sequence: see text] that is common to many ribosomal protein genes of higher eukaryotes.