Novel actin crosslinker superfamily member identified by a two step degenerate PCR procedure

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Abstract
Actin‐crosslinking proteins link F‐actin into the bundles and networks that constitute the cytoskeleton. Dystrophin, β‐spectrin, α‐actinin, ABP‐120, ABP‐280, and fimbrin share homologous actin‐binding domains and comprise an actin crosslinker superfamily. We have identified a novel member of this superfamily (ACF7) using a degenerate primer‐mediated PCR strategy that was optimized to resolve less‐abundant superfamily sequences. The ACF7 gene is on human chromosome 1 and hybridizes to high molecular weight bands on northern blots. Sequence comparisons argue that ACF7 does not fit into one of the existing families, but represents a new class within the superfamily.