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Background: Theta-globin mRNA is found in human fetal erythroid tissue but not in adult erythroid or other nonerythroid tissue. The theta-1 gene may be expressed very early in embryonic life, perhaps sometime before 5 weeks. Theta-1 is a member of the human alpha-globin gene cluster that involves five functional genes and two pseudogenes. The order of genes is: 5′ – zeta – pseudozeta – mu – pseudoalpha-2 -pseudoalpha-1 – alpha-2 – alpha-1 – theta-1 – 3′. Research supports a transcriptionally active role for the gene and a functional role for the peptide in specific cells, possibly those of early erythroid tissue. [provided by RefSeq, Jul 2008],