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Published November 1985 | Published
Journal Article Open

Characterization of the Myosin Light-Chain-2 Gene of Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

Recombinant DNA clones encoding the Drosophila melanogaster homolog of the vertebrate myosin light-chain-2 (MLC-2) gene have been isolated. This single-copy gene maps to the chromosomal locus 99E. The nucleotide sequence was determined for a 3.4-kilobase genomic fragment containing the gene and for two MLC-2 cDNA clones generated from late pupal mRNA. Comparison of these sequences shows that the gene contains two introns, the positions of which are conserved in the corresponding rat sequence. Extension of a primer homologous to the mRNA reveals two start sites for transcription 12 nucleotides apart. The sequence TATA is not present ahead of the mRNA cap site. There are two major sites of poly(A) addition separated by 356 nucleotides. The protein sequence derived from translation of the cDNA sequence shows a high degree of homology with that for the DTNB myosin light chain (MLC-2) of chicken. A lower degree of sequence homology was seen in comparisons with other evolutionarily related calcium-binding proteins. RNA blots show high levels of expression of several transcripts during the developmental time stages when muscle is being produced. In vitro translation of hybrid-selected RNA produces two polypeptides which comigrate on two-dimensional gels with proteins from Drosophila actomyosin, although the cDNA sequence reveals only one 26-kilodalton primary translation product.

Additional Information

© 1985 American Society for Microbiology. Received 20 May 1985; Accepted 12 August 1985. We acknowledge Ed Lewis and Elliot Meyerowitz for help with in situ hybridizations and William Mattox for help in early stages of this work and for critical discussions. Funding for this work was from the National Institutes of Health to N.D. and S.F. and from the American Cancer Society to S.F. V.P. was supported by a National Institutes of Health training grant, and S.F. was supported by a Muscular Dystrophy postdoctoral fellowship and a National Research Service award.

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August 19, 2023
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