Structure of the smallest salivary-gland secretory protein gene in Chironomus tentans

The salivary gland secretion in the dipteran Chironomus tentans is composed of approximately 15 different secretory proteins. The most well known the corresponding genes are the four closely related Balbiani ring (BR) genes, in which the main part of each approximately 40-kb gene is composed of tand...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of molecular evolution 1994-05, Vol.38 (5), p.482-488
Main Authors: Galli, J, Wieslander, L
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Amino Acid Sequence
amino acid sequences
animal proteins
Animals
Base Sequence
Biological Evolution
Chironomidae
Chironomidae - genetics
Chironomus
Chironomus tentans
Cloning, Molecular
Diptera
DNA
Exons
gene expression
Genes, Insect
Insect Proteins
messenger RNA
Molecular Sequence Data
Multigene Family
nucleotide sequences
salivary glands
Salivary Glands - metabolism
Salivary Proteins and Peptides - chemistry
Salivary Proteins and Peptides - genetics
sp12 gene
structural genes
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Summary:The salivary gland secretion in the dipteran Chironomus tentans is composed of approximately 15 different secretory proteins. The most well known the corresponding genes are the four closely related Balbiani ring (BR) genes, in which the main part of each approximately 40-kb gene is composed of tandemly arranged repetitive units. Six of the seven additional secretory protein genes described share structural similarities with the BR genes and are members of the same BR multigene family. Here we report the identification of a new secretory protein gene, the sp12 gene, encoding the smallest component of the C. tentans salivary gland secretion. The gene has a corresponding mRNA length of approximately 0.7 kb and codes for a protein with a calculated molecular weight of 7,619 Da. The sp12 gene was characterized in seven Chironomus species. Based on a comparison of the orthologous gene sequences, we conclude that the sp12 gene has a repetitive structure consisting of diverged 21-bp-long repeats. The repeat structure and the codon composition are similar to the so-called SR regions of the BR genes and the sp12 gene may represent a diverged member of the BR multigene family.
ISSN:0022-2844
1432-1432
DOI:10.1007/BF00178848