Truncated constructs define a small region
of predicted coiled coil that is essential for viability. (A) Top line
shows the N-terminal nonhelical peptide in paramyosin that is
phosphorylated by an endogenous kinase (see INTRODUCTION). The proposed
phosphorylation motif S_S_A is underlined. The C termini of full-length
MHC A (black) and MHC B (gray) are shown as aligned by the program
Megalign, with the C termini of mutant and chimeric constructs shown
below. The number of C-terminal residues removed in each construct
follows the delta (Δ) symbol. Those residues designated as nonhelical
score p = 0 in paircoil (Berger et al., 1995), and
those designated as rod score p = 1.0. The Δ34 constructs
contain unc-54 (MHC B) sequences that result in the
presence of a single MHC B amino acid residue at the C terminus (see
MATERIALS AND METHODS). Amino acid residues changed by missense
mutation are marked by a shaded rectangle. (B) Constructs were tested
for the ability to rescue single mutant animals lacking one MHC
isoform, and for the ability to rescue double mutant animals lacking
both isoforms. Schematic drawings of the myosin constructs (left) show
MHC A residues in black and MHC B residues in gray. The oval represents
the head domain, the thick line represents the coiled-coil rod, and the
small angled C-terminal box represents the tailpiece. BH denotes the
presence of the MHC B head, and the boxed HA label or “tag”
indicates the addition of the hemagglutinin epitope. Some of the single
mutant data have been published (Hoppe and Waterston, 1996). ND, not
done; P, partial rescue.