Interaction between Kb and Q4 gene sequences generates the Kbm6 mutation.

Genetic interaction as a mechanism for the generation of mutations is suggested by recurrent, multiple nucleotide substitutions that are identical to nucleotide sequences elsewhere in the genome. We have sequenced the mutant K gene from the bm6 mouse, which is one of a series of eight closely related, yet independently occurring mutants known collectively as the "bg series." Two changes from the Kb gene are found, positioned 15 nucleotides apart: an A-to-T change and a T-to-C change in the codons corresponding to amino acids 116 and 121, resulting in Tyr-to-Phe and Cys-to-Arg substitutions, respectively. Hybridization analysis with an oligonucleotide specific for the altered Kbm6 sequence identifies one donor gene, Q4, located in the Qa region of the H-2 complex. The two altered nucleotides that differentiate Kbm6 and Kb are present in Q4 in a region where Kb and Q4 are otherwise identical for 95 nucleotides, delineating the maximum genetic transfer between the two genes. Because the Kbm6 mutation arose in an homozygous mouse these data indicate that the Q4 gene contains the only donor sequence and demonstrates that Q-region gene sequences can interact with the Kb gene to generate variant K molecules.