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General Comment |
van der Laan et al 2000 reported the characterization of mRAD18Sc, a Mouse Homolog of the Yeast Postreplication
Repair Gene RAD18.
The RAD18 gene of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae encodes a protein with ssDNA binding
activity that interacts with the ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme RAD6 and plays an important role in
postreplication repair. The authors identified and characterized the putative mouse homolog of RAD18,
designated mRAD18Sc. The mRAD18Sc open reading frame encodes a 509-amino-acid polypeptide
that is strongly conserved in size and sequence between yeast and mammals, with specific
conservation of the RING-zinc-finger and the classic zinc-finger domain. The degree of sequence
conservation between mRAD18Sc, RAD18, and homologous sequences identified in other species
(NuvA from Aspergillus nidulans and Uvs-2 from Neurospora crassa) is entirely consistent with the
evolutionary relationship of these organisms, strongly arguing that these genes are one another's
homologs. mRNA expression of mRAD18Sc in the mouse was observed in thymus, spleen, brain, and
ovary, but was most pronounced in testis, with the highest level of expression in pachytene-stage
primary spermatocytes, suggesting that mRAD18Sc plays a role in meiosis of spermatogenesis.
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