Abstract
The recombinant chicken DNA library was screened for histone genes by using pSp17, a recombinant sea urchin DNA probe containing the H2a and H3 genes of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Three of the isolated .lambda. recombinants were analyzed by restriction enzyme mapping and Southern blotting; 1 histone H3 gene-encoding recombinant was further analyzed by DNA sequence determination. The chicken histone genes apparently are not tandemly reiterated, but at the least, several histone genes are physically closely linked in a nonrepetitive arrangement within the chicken genome. The evolutionary implications of this arrangement vs. that seen in Drosophila and sea urchins is discussed.