[Aldolase isozyme gene: on the structure and the tissue-specific expression of a muscle type aldolase gene]

A muscle-type aldolase gene known to be a tumor marker enzyme was analyzed. It was found that three different molecular species of the mRNA exist and are expressed in a tissue-specific manner. These mRNAs have identical coding and 3' noncoding sequences and differ only at the 5' end of the sequence. Genomic DNA analysis indicated that a single aldolase gene for one muscle type specifies three different mRNAs by organizing as a leader sequence a region corresponding to each distinct 5' end of the mRNA followed by a shared common structural gene in the genome.