GENOMIC ORGANIZATION OF THE HUMAN PROCOLLAGEN ALPHA-1(II) COLLAGEN GENE

The nucleotide sequence of the human procollagen alpha-1 (II) collagen gene extending from within the first intron through exon 15, and part of the 15th intron has been determined. This sequence analysis (7056 bases) identifies the intron/exon organization of the region of this gene encoding the N-propeptide and part of the triple-helical domain. Structural comparison of this with the genes of other human fibrillar collagens shows considerable diversity in terms of size and number of introns and exons that encodes the N-propeptide domain. Although the genomic structure of the human procollagen alpha-1 (II) gene is quite different from the rat procollagen alpha-1 (II) gene, the nucleotide coding sequences are 89% identical.