Comparison of the human and mouse α-globin gene clusters and their upstream regions.

In each cluster, genes are represented by gray boxes, with orthologous genes numbered as in the article by Flint et al,10 showing conserved gene organization. The thick black line underneath the HS −40 site represents the minimum fragment deleted in patients with α thalassemia with intact α-globin genes. The sequence of this region was compared with the mouse homologous region in the central panel by using the VISTA program.26 The percentage of sequence conservation is indicated on the right, and the exons of the C16orf35 gene are indicated as gray boxes over the sequence alignment. HS sites confirmed in this study are shown as red arrows; those reported previously in MEL cells are shown in pink.