Abstract :
Homo sapiens C/D box snoRNA 14q(II-6). The cluster of the 31 highly related 14q(II) snoRNAs was discovered by a genomic analysis of the imprinted human 14q32 locus. Members of this cluster, as well as the snoRNA 14q(0) and the 9 members of the 14q(I) snoRNA cluster, are encoded in introns of the non-coding MEG8 RNA gene. Although near from the maternally expressed GTL2/MEG3 gene, the MEG8 gene is not submitted to genomic imprinting. In the human, 14q(II) is highly expressed in the brain and uterus, and to a lesser extent in the heart. Due to cross-hybridisation in Northern blot analysis, it could not be assessed if all predicted snoRNAs in this cluster are indeed expressed. These snoRNAs are not predicted to guide to 2'O-methylation of a rRNA or snRNA.