Primary structure of the mouse glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene

We have isolated from a BALB/c genomic library a 17.5-kilobase (kb) DNA fragment containing the entire mouse sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (glycerol-P dehydrogenase) gene, and a substantial portion of the flanking regions. The DNA sequence of 10.8 kb of this fragment was determined. Using this information, together with the DNA sequence of several partial glycerol-P dehydrogenase cDNA clones and the rabbit glycerol-P dehydrogenase amino acid sequence, we determined the structural organization of the mouse glycerol-P dehydrogenase gene. The gene is 7.3 kb long and contains 8 exons. Transcription starts 19 base pairs 5' of the ATG initiation codon. Sequence analysis and S1 nuclease mapping indicated that the 8th exon contains coding sequences for the last 31 amino acids of glycerol-P-dehydrogenase, followed by 1.7 kb of 3' untranslated mRNA sequence. The mouse glycerol-P dehydrogenase amino acid sequence determined from the DNA sequence is 90% homologous with the rabbit enzyme. An examination of the exon/intron organization of the mouse glycerol-P dehydrogenase gene shows that intron 3 precisely separates the NAD-binding and the catalytic domains and intron 2 separates the adenine- and nicotinamide-binding regions.