ISSN:
1617-4623
Keywords:
Key wordsDrosophila
;
Polycistronic transcription
;
serendipity cluster
;
Transcriptional interference
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Abstract The Drosophila melanogaster serendipity (sry) genes sry α and sry β, which code for unrelated proteins and functions, are transcribed both as monocistronic (sry α, sry β) and dicistronic (sry β-sry α) polyadenylated transcripts, the three types of transcripts being differentially expressed throughout development. We show here that, while the sry gene cluster is conserved in two other distantly related Drosophila species, sry β-sry α dicistronic transcription is observed in one of them, Drosophila pseudoobscura but not in the other, Drosophila virilis, indicating that this mode of transcription is not subject to selection during evolution. Sequence comparison of the intergenic sryβ-sryα region suggests that sryβ-sryα read-through transcription results from interference between initiation of transcription at the sryα promoter and 3' processing of the upstream sryβ transcript. From these and previous analyses, we propose that read-through transcription at the sry locus reflects its clustered gene organisation but is functionally gratuitous. This conclusion is supported by the autonomous rate of evolutionary sequence divergence shown by each individual sry gene.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s004380050839
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