Sequence, expression, and polymorphism of the Peromyscus leucopus Mhc class Ib gene, M4.

The H2 M region harbors about 20 class I genes or gene fragments the function of which are largely obscure. The rat Mhc ( RT1) appears to contain several orthologs of H2 M region genes although orthologs in more distantly related species have yet to be clearly identified. In this report, the sequence of a genomic clone containing a Peromyscus leucopus Mhc ( Pele) class I gene is presented and based on sequence similarity was found to be the Pele ortholog of H2-M4.