ABSTRACT
The evolutionary between the v<J.rious members of the lipocalin superfamily are not only reflected at the three-dimensional stmcturallevel but also at the level of gene organization. Gene structures are now available for nine members of the family: RBP (14), BLG (90), MUP (91), PP14 (92), a:t-MG (93),
(94), PGDS (95), ALPD (96), and epididymal secretory ESP (97). A comparison of these sequences (90,95,97) dearly indicates considerable conservation of exon/intron organization (Figure In this comparison, genes encoding BLG, MUP, PP14, and PGDS appear to be most closely related. All the corresponding exons are similar in size, all the equivalent introns are identically
ESP
BLG
PP14
Figure 3 Comparison of the exon/intron organization of nine members of the lipocalin superfamily. Exons are shown as open boxes and their coding sequences are patterned. Sizes of exons (bp) are indicated above the boxes. Introns are shown by horizontal lines
drawn to scale).
