Physical linkage and orientation of the human complement C8 alpha and C8 beta genes on chromosome 1p32

Human C8 is one of five components (C5b, C6, C7, C8, C9) of the cytolytic C5b-9 complex of complement. It consists of three nonidentical subunits (C8 alpha, C8 beta, C8 gamma), which are encoded in separate genes. Genetic linkage and chromosomal localization studies previously established that C8 alpha and C8 beta are closely linked on chromosome 1p32. In this study, clones with inserts containing genes for both C8 alpha and C8 beta were isolated from a yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) human genomic DNA library and characterized in an effort to determine intergenic distance and orientation. One clone with a approximately 330-kb insert yielded restriction digest patterns for C8 alpha and C8 beta that agreed with those obtained previously from digests of human genomic DNA, thereby confirming the presence of intact copies of both genes. A second clone with a approximately 280-kb insert yielded similar results; however, it was truncated at the 5' end of the C8 alpha gene. Restriction digests of both clones were subjected to PFGE and Southern blot analysis using probes specific for the terminal exons of C8 alpha (exons 1 and 11) and C8 beta (exons 1 and 12). Results indicate the genes are physically linked (< 23 kb) and in a 3'-3' orientation. This is the same orientation as the ancestrally related C6 and C7 genes, which are also physically linked on chromosome 5p13.