Ig heavy chain of the sturgeon Acipenser baeri: cDNA sequence and diversity

To investigate the gene organization of the IGH locus, and the VH diversity of the Siberian sturgeon, a cDNA library was constructed and screened with VH-specific probes from two holostean fish. Isolated clones were analyzed and domain-specific probes used in rescreening of the library, Southern blot analysis, and northern blots. It was concluded that the Siberian sturgeon has one IGH locus with a translocon type of organization. Two allelic variants of the mu gene were found, with identities ranging from 80 to 100% for the different domains (highest for CH4 and lowest for CH2). Sturgeon CH sequences are most closely related to those of holostean fish. There are three distinct VH families, VHI grouping with mammalian clan III, VHII grouping with the teleost clan, and VHIII grouping with the archaic clan. The variability of the CDR 3 region is substantial, and we identified a number of conserved motifs in the D segment. Further, we deduced that there are at least nine different JH segments in the locus, contributing to the antibody repertoire of the sturgeon. The variable segments of the three families can be associated with any of the D or JH segments in the rearrangement. Sturgeon, in addition to the random rearrangement of VH, D, and JH segments, have exonuclease activity, and an introduction of N and probably P nucleotides at the site of rearrangement.