Transcript mapping of the human chromosome 11q12-q13.1 gene-rich region identifies several newly described conserved genes.

Despite the localization of several human diseases to 11q13, the majority of the genes responsible for these disorders have not yet been cloned. Exon amplification and EST mapping were performed using clones derived from an approximately 1.65-Mb P1 artificial chromosome contig encompassing the region that reportedly harbors the gene mutated in the dominantly inherited eye disorder, Best disease. Fifty-eight exons isolated from the region were sequenced, resulting in 41.3% showing weak or no similarity to database sequences. Four exons had exact matches with human ESTs and 2 exons were highly similar to mouse ESTs. The sequence of 1 of these human ESTs was highly similar to that of the rat Rabin3 and mouse Pat-12 genes, which potentially encode Ras-like GTPase binding proteins. Three exon sequences were similar to those of the inner centromere proteins of Gallus gallus and Xenopus laevis, which are mitotic phosphoproteins, and 1 exon sequence had similarity to the epidermal growth factor-like repeat from several proteins. High-resolution mapping of 34 ESTs binned to the 11q12-q13 region by the Human Transcript Mapping Project identified 5 present in the PAC contig, with 1 of these ESTs identifying a human homologue of the rat synaptotagmin VII gene. Database searches identified two overlapping cDNA clones representing almost the entire open reading frame of this human gene and a sequenced cosmid indicating its partial genomic structure. Further database analyses identified another sequenced cosmid from this region that contained both exon-trap and mapped EST sequences. PowerBLAST and GRAIL analysis of this cosmid sequence identified matches with several other ESTs, the previously described FEN1 gene, and a novel evolutionarily conserved gene. These experiments identify candidate genes for disorders that map to this region and indicate that this is a gene-rich region of the human genome.