Cloning and Characterization of Genes Expressed in the Mouse Reticulocytes

In mouse reticulocytes, approximately 250 middle abundant-rare class messages were estimated to be present besides globin mRNA (OBINATA and IKAWA, 1980). Approximately 200 independent genomic clones (rt-clones) expressed in the mouse reticulocyte mRNAs were obtained from a mouse gene library. Surprisingly, most of the rt-clones are shown to be expressed even in non-erythroid tissues significantly. By the plaque hybridization method with 133 rt-clones, the pattern of expression of these genes was examined at different stages of erythroid cell maturation.