Strongylocentrotus purpuratus Genes in Development:
Histones
LH4
Function
The late H4 (LH4) gene is a member of the late histone genes subtype.
There are 5-10 copies of the late histone genes per genome
and their organization is very different from the early genes.
The number of late H4 genes may vary from individual to individual (Kaumeyer at al., 1986).
Unlike the bulk maternal mRNA pool, histone mRNA is located
almost exclusively within the egg nucleus, suggesting that the
egg selectively retains the stored pool of histone mRNPs within the
nuclear membrane while allowing newly synthesized mRNAs, including
histone transcripts, to pass into the
egg cytoplasm (DeLeon et al., 1983; Showman et al., 1982; Venezky et al., 1981).
The stored histone mRNPs remain within the egg nucleus until
fertilization initiates egg cleavage (Maxson et al., 1983).
Expression Pattern
Two LH4 mRNA accumulate from 5 to 12 hr of development and then
remain fairly constant until 72 hr (Mohum et al. 1985)
mRNA level
Temporal accumulation
Method 1: RNA blot hybridization
Reference: Mohum et al. 1985