Identification of the human neuronal nicotinic cholinergic alpha 2 receptor locus, (CHRNA2), within an 8p21 mapped locus, by sequence homology with rat DNA.

We have identified a cosmid, at the D8S131 locus, that shows sequence homology with exon 2 of the rat gene for the neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptor alpha 2 subunit. A 357-bp sequence surrounding a rare cutter AscI site contains a 152-bp region of homology. The human CHRNA2 gene is therefore positioned at the D8S131 locus, which has been mapped to 8p21.