The genes for human alcohol dehydrogenases β1 and β2 differ by only one nucleotide

Abstract

Allelic differences at the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase loci may have an important role in an individual's alcohol sensitivity. We have cloned and sequenced all nine exons of an ADH22 allele which codes for an ‘atypical’ ADH, ADHβ2. Our sequence data shows that the histidine at residue 47 of ADHβ2 is encoded by CAC. Surprisingly, no silent substitution was found between the coding regions of ADH21 [Duester, G., Smith, M., Bilanchone, V. & Hatfield, G. W. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 2027–2033.] and ADH22 alleles over the 1122 nucleotide sites. Copyright © 1989, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved