Structural and evolutionary analysis of the two chimpanzee α-globin mRNAs

Two distinct α-globin mRNAs were detected in chimpanzee reticulocyte mRNA using a primer extension assay. DNA copies of these two mRNAs were cloned in the bacterial plasmid pBR322, and their sequence was determined. The two α-globin mRNAs have obvious structural homology to the two human α-globin mRNAs, α1 and α2. Comparison of the two chimpanzee α-globin mRNAs to each other and to their corresponding human counterparts revealed evidence of a recent gene conversion in the human α-globin complex and a marked heterogeneity in the rate of structural divergence within the α-globin gene.