Characterization of a processed pseudogene of human FAU1 on chromosome 18

A member of the human FAU (Finkel-Biskis-Reilly murine sarcoma virus-associated ubiquitously expressed) gene subfamily, encoding the ribosomal protein S30 fused in frame to an ubiquitin-like protein, was cloned, sequenced and analysed. This clone, FAU1P, is a processed pseudogene with a completely intact, although transcriptionally silent, open reading frame of 137 codons. FAU1P exhibits an amplification of the (AAG) triplet repeat present in the S30 coding part of FAU. FAU1P is integrated in an antisense orientation within a sequence homologous to the promoter of the islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP or amylin)-encoding gene. By means of PCR hybrid panel mapping, FAU1P was assigned to chromosome 18.