Construction of mRNA genes for the synthesis and translation of duck alpha globin mRNA

In studies of the effects of changes in mRNA structure and sequence on the initiation of protein synthesis, we used a generally applicable approach to transcribe reconstructed genes for duck alpha A globin by the bacteriophage SP6 RNA polymerase promoter in a pGEM-2 plasmid vector. The genes were reconstructed such that the first nucleotide to be transcribed, the 5' adenosine, was placed directly adjacent to the SP6 promoter sequence. The 3' ends of the genes were constructed such that cleavage with Ssp 1 endonuclease yielded a template that directed the synthesis of mRNA terminating in a poly A tail containing 56 adenosines and a single 3' uridine. Special conditions using a Mn++ buffer were developed to enable the SP6 RNA polymerase to initiate at the 5' adenosine and synthesize the A-start transcription product. The mRNA could be capped and was subsequently used as an effective template for in vitro translation and synthesis of duck alpha A globin.