Patent ID: 7220547

Claim:
An isolated nucleic acid molecule comprising a nucleotide sequence selected from the group consisting of: (a) a nucleotide sequence comprising the sequence as set forth in SEQ ID NO: 3; (b) a nucleotide sequence encoding the polypeptide set forth in SEQ ID NO: 4; (c) a nucleotide sequence which hybridizes under highly stringent conditions to the complement of the coding sequence of (a) or (b), wherein said stringent conditions comprise a final wash with 0.015 M sodium chloride and 0.0015 M sodium citrate at 65–68° C. in 0.1×SSC and 0.1% SDS or 0.015 M sodium chloride, 0.0015 M sodium citrate, and 50% formamide at 42° C., which encodes a polypeptide having E3α ligase activity; and (d) a nucleotide sequence fully complementary to the full length of any of (a)–(c).