Figure 6.

Sequence analysis of Defβ37/Pdb1. (a) The full-length mouse Defβ37/Pbd1 sequence was obtained through the assembly of mouse prostate ESTs and RACE reactions. The open reading frame (capital small font) comprises 219 nt encoding a putative protein of 73 amino acids. Three potential polyadenylation signals are located 99, 72 and 51 nt upstream of the polyA sequence (dashed underline). The Defβ37/Pbd1 gene is predicted to have two exons (splice site denoted by inverted triangle). A leader sequence of 22 amino acids (underline) is predicted based upon comparison with other members of the β-defensin family. Cysteine residues conserved with other β-defensin genes are boxed. (b) Alignment of Defβ37/Pbd1 with the draft mouse genome sequence using BLAT. Defβ37/Pbd1 aligns with sequence on mouse chromosome 8 and is spliced into two exons separated by a 7.3 kb intron. Genscan and Fgenesh predict a gene corresponding to Pbd1. No public mouse mRNAs or ESTs align to the Defβ37/Pbd1 sequence. Defβ37/Pbd1 is flanked by β-defensins 1 and 2. (c) Multiple protein sequence alignment with Defβ37/Pbd1 and β-defensin family members. Residues conserved in a majority of sequences are boxed in dark gray. Residues strongly similar to conserved sequences are boxed in light gray. Cysteine residues predicted to be involved in β-defensin activity are conserved between family members.