Scallop striated and smooth muscle myosin heavy-chain isoforms are produced by alternative RNA splicing from a single gene

We report here that the catch and striated adductor muscle myosin heavy- chain (MHC) isoforms of scallop (Argopecten irradians, previously Aequipecten irradians) are generated by alternative RNA splicing from a single gene. Scallop catch muscle cDNA and genomic DNA were amplified by PCR using primers based on the previously sequenced scallop striated muscle MHC cDNA. Mapping of the exon/intron borders and sequencing of a full-length catch muscle MHC in overlapping fragments revealed that the 24-kb gene encodes the MHC polypeptide in 27 exons and that four sets of tandem exon pairs are alternatively spliced into a striated and a catch MHC isoform. An additional alternative exon was identified in catch cDNA and is apparently spliced into a minor MHC isoform. The striated muscle-specific isoform is not expressed in other tissues, whereas the catch-type isoforms were also detected in various smooth muscles, but not in the striated one. Of the alternative exons, exons 5 and 6 encode part of the ATP-binding region and the 25-kDa/50-kDa proteolytic junction; exon 13 encodes part of one of the actin-binding regions and extends to the active site; exon 20 encodes the middle of the rod hinge region; exon 26 in the striated-specific sequence starts with the stop codon, whereas the catch-specific exon codes for an additional 10 residues. Differences between the alternative exons presumably determine the lower ATPase activity of smooth muscle myosin, contribute to the different structure of the striated and smooth muscle thick filaments, and may also be important for the molecular mechanism of the catch phenomenon.