A single rat fibronectin gene generates three different mRNAs by alternative splicing of a complex exon.

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Abstract
Three fibronectin mRNA exist in rat liver, differing by the presence or absence of segments of 285 or 360 bases at a point within the coding region. Presumably, the 3 mRNA are encoded by a single gene and arise via alternative splicing of a common transcript. In order to test their hypothesis, clones were isolated spanning .apprx. 1/2 of the fibronectin gene from a Fisher rat genomic library; blot hybridization analyses reveal the presence of only one fibronectin gene in the haploid rat genome. The sequence of a portion (1221 nucleotides) of this gene was determined. This sequence shows clearly that the 3 fibronectin mRNA encoded by this gene are generated by a pattern of alternative splicing in which one 5'' splice site can be paired with any one of three 3'' splice sites, 1 at the beginning of, and 2 within, a single complex exon.