Аннотация:The distribution of DNase I hypersensitive sites upstream of the chicken alpha-globin gene cluster was studied. A group of hypersensitive sites with a complex pattern of tissue specificity, including erythroid-specific elements, was found at a distance of 11.5-14.5 kb upstream of the pi gene, the first gene in the cluster. The observations indicate that this area, located upstream of the block of AT-rich sequences and MAR sites (at -8 kb) and upstream of the site of permanent DNA attachment to the nuclear matrix (-3 kb), still belongs to the domain of the alpha-globin genes.