Pyruvate dehydrogenase E1 alpha subunit genes in the mouse: mapping and comparison with human homologs

Two gene loci for the E1 alpha subunit of the pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH) complex have been mapped in the mouse by in situ hybridization. One locus maps to the X chromosome in the region F3-F4, the other to chromosome 19, in band B close to the centromere. This arrangement is exactly comparable to the situation in man where there is an X-linked PDH E1 alpha locus and an autosomal locus on chromosome 4. Comparison of the regional localization of the human and mouse X-linked PDH E1 alpha genes provides further information concerning sites of rearrangement of segments of the X chromosome during mammalian evolution. The human autosomal PDH E1 alpha gene is a "processed" gene, which lacks the introns that are present in the X-linked gene. It codes for a testis-specific E1 alpha subunit that is only expressed after the onset of spermatogenesis. The comparative mapping results in the mouse suggest that the genetic organization and pattern of expression of the two PDH E1 alpha genes is the same in the two species.