The nucleotide sequence of the 5' untranslated region of human gamma-globin mRNA

The nucleotide sequence of the entire 5' untranslated region of human gamma-globin mRNA has been determined. This was accomplished by analyzing complementary DNA (cRNA) synthesized from the mRNA with reverse transcriptase. The CDNA was labeled at its 3' end with 32"p using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase, digested with the restriction endonuclease Hae III and the end-labeled fragment isolated ans sequenced by the method of Maxam and Gilbert. Including the initiation codon AUG, the 5' untranslated region of human gamma-globin mRNA contains 57 nucleotides, compared to 41 in alpha- and 54 in beta-globin mRNA. There is very little homology between alpha and gamma sequences in the 5' region. There is considerable homology between beta- and gamma-globin mRNAs in the regions proximal and distal to the initiation codon, but the entire sequence shows less homology than the human and rabbit beta-globin mRNAs. The hexanucleotide sequence CUUCUG is found near the 5' ends of all three human globin mRNAs, suggesting a possible role of this sequence or ribosomal binding. Both guanosine and cytidine were found at the 19th nucleotide position from the 5' end of the gamma mRNA. We believe this heterogeneity arises from the difference in nucleotide sequence between the A gamma and G gamma loci.