Myosin Heavy Chain 13, Skeletal Muscle (MYH13)

Weiss et al. (1999) used RT-PCR of RNA isolated from human skeletal muscle samples to obtain the full-length coding sequence for the MYH13 gene, which they called MYHC-EO. MYHC-EO expression had been detected in laryngeal muscles (Lucas et al., 1995) but was restricted primarily to the extrinsic eye muscles, which are specialized for function in eye movement. By analysis of a radiation hybrid panel and by inclusion within mapped clones, Winters et al. (1998) mapped the MYH13 gene to human chromosome 17p13.1-p12. Using an interspecific backcross, they determined that the mouse EO myosin gene maps to chromosome 11. In both mouse and human, the MYH13 gene is located in a region containing several other MHC genes.