SMN1telomerna kopija gena koji kodira protein SMN; centromerna kopija naziva se SMN2. SMN1 i SMN2 su dio obrnute duplikacije na hromosomskoj regiji 5q13, od 500 kbp. Ova duplicirana regija sadrži najmanje četiri gena i ponavljajući element koji ga čine sklonim preuređivanjima i delecijama. Ponavljanje i složenost sekvence također su uzrokovali poteškoće u određivanju organizacije ove genomske regije. SMN1 i SMN2 su gotovo identični i kodiraju isti protein.[6] Kritična razlika u sekvenci između njih je jedan nukleotid u egzonu 7, za koji se smatra da je pojačivač splajsinga egzona. Smatra se da konverzije gena mogu uključivati dva gena, što dovodi do različitog broja kopija svakog od njih.[6]
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