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. 1986 Jan 24;14(2):703–719. doi: 10.1093/nar/14.2.703

A BR 1 gene in Chironomus tentans has a composite structure: a large repetitive core block is separated from a short unrelated 3'-terminal domain by a small intron.

C Höög, C Engberg, L Wieslander
PMCID: PMC339459  PMID: 3003693

Abstract

The large Balbiani ring (BR) genes in the dipteran genus Chironomus have been considered to be homogeneous repetitive structures. Analysis of a genomic DNA segment now reveals that a BR 1 gene in C. tentans is a composite gene, consisting of two different types of sequences. A 15-20 kb core block of tandemly arranged repeat units extends close to the 3' end of the BR 1 gene and ends in repetitive structures partly different from the repeat units in the core block. A 55 bp long intron separates the core block, which probably constitutes a single exon, from a non-related 3'-exon, comprising the final 332 bp of the translated part of the gene. According to hydrophobicity and secondary structure predictions, the 3'-exon encoded peptide is distinctly different from the repetitive core block domain and attains a globular structure. The carboxyl-terminal peptide domain is likely to be a general feature of BR encoded proteins and may have important functions in the excretion and polymerisation of the secretory proteins.

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Selected References

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