The mouse Edr2 (Mph2) gene has two forms of mRNA encoding 90- and 36-kDa polypeptides

The vertebrate Polycomb Group (PcG) genes encode proteins that form large multimeric and chromatin-associated complexes implicated in the stable repression of developmentally essential genes. Here we have isolated a 2.5-kb cDNA for Edr2, a mouse homolog of the Drosophila PcG gene Ph, although it was originally identified as a 3.8-kb cDNA. However, little is known about molecular basis of the 3.8-kb cDNA. Genomic and RNA analyses have shown that Edr2 locates on Chromosome 4 as a single copy gene and is transcribed into at least two transcript isoforms about 3.0 and 4.4 kb in length, most likely corresponding to the 2.5- and 3.8-kb cDNAs, respectively. The largest open reading frames in the 2.5- and 3.8-kb cDNAs encode 36- and 90-kDa polypeptides, respectively. The 36-kDa protein is a truncated form lacking of the N-terminal region of the 90-kDa protein. Interestingly, it has been demonstrated that the 3.0-kb mRNA accumulates at a much higher level than the 3.8-kb mRNA in mouse embryos and mature tissues. Immunostaining assay of mammalian cells has shown that the 36-kDa form tagged with HA colocalizes with the other PcG protein Mel18 in nuclei, suggesting that the smaller protein is capable of forming maltimeric complex with other PcG proteins. Therefore, the 36-kDa protein might function generally as a PcG protein.