Murine protein kinase CK2α': cDNA and genomic cloning and chromosomal mapping

Abstract

Protein kinase CK2 (casein kinase II) is a heterotetrameric enzyme implicated in many essential regulatory pathways in cells. We have determined the sequence of the murine CK2α' cDNA that encodes a 350-amino-acid protein that would have 99 and 98% homology with the human and chicken proteins, respectively, and is also highly homologous to murine CK2α. To clarify the sequence of the 5' end of the cDNA and to elucidate the structure and regulation of the gene, we obtained a bacterial artificial chromosome clone that contains the 35-kb CK2α' gene. The gene consists of 12 small exons; the 5' end, including the first exon and intron, is extremely GC rich and contains a CpG island. The putative promoter contains potential binding sites for a variety of transcriptional factors but appears to lack CCAAT- or TATA- like elements. A polymorphic dinucleotide repeat in the fifth intron allowed us to map the CK2α' gene to murine Chromosome 8.