The organization of the intron-containing human S6 ribosomal protein (rpS6) gene and determination of its location at chromosome 9p21.

The intron-containing gene encoding human ribosomal protein S6 (rpS6), the major phosphoprotein in the mammalian ribosome, has been cloned. Using a PCR based cloning strategy we have isolated the rpS6 intron-containing gene in the presence of its many processed pseudogenes and determined the DNA sequence of the entire gene and its upstream and downstream flanking regions. The human rpS6 gene is 3979 bp in length and comprises six exons. Despite lacking a consensus TATA box, primer extension analysis indicates that the start of transcription is located at a single C residue within an 11 bp oligopyrimidine tract. The first exon, which contains the ATG start codon, is 48 bp in length. The DNA sequence in the 5' region of the gene has features of a CpG-rich island. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis the position of the rpS6 gene has been sublocalized to human chromosome 9p21. The similarities and differences between rpS6 and other previously characterized ribosomal protein genes are discussed.