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Review
. 2002;3(3):COMMENT2002.
doi: 10.1186/gb-2002-3-3-comment2002. Epub 2002 Feb 22.

The gentle art of gene arrangement: the meaning of gene clusters

John Trowsdale  1
Affiliations
Review

The gentle art of gene arrangement: the meaning of gene clusters

John Trowsdale. Genome Biol. 2002.

Abstract

Genome sequence comparisons reveal that some sets of genes are in similar linkage groups in different organisms while other sets are dispersed. Are some linkage groups maintained by chance, or is there an advantage to such an arrangement? Some insights may come from large clusters of genes, such as the major histocompatibility complex which includes many genes involved in immune defense.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The MHC regions of (a) humans (HLA) and (b) mice (H-2). Only some of the key immune-system genes are shown, out of the more than 200 loci within the MHC. Historically, the MHC has been divided into three regions - class I, class II and class III. Most of the important phenotypes, such as transplant rejection, are associated with the class I and class II loci; these genes are highly polymorphic and some of them have over 300 alleles. Bf, C2 and C4 are complement proteins; LMP, low-molecular weight polypeptide; MIC, MHC class I chain-related; TAP, transporter associated with antigen-processing; TAPBP, TAP-binding protein (tapasin); TNF, tumor necrosis factor.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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