title: A second maternally expressed Drosophila gene encodes a putative RNA helicase of the "DEAD box" family.
abstract: Recently, a family of proteins containing the conserved motif Asp-Glu-Ala-Asp, the "DEAD box" proteins, has been identified. This family is typified by the eukaryotic translation initiation factor eIF4A, and its members are believed to share the functional property of ATP-dependent RNA unwinding. One of the previously identified members of this family (vasa) is the product of a maternally expressed gene from Drosophila melanogaster that is known to play a role in the formation of the embryonic body plan. We report here the isolation of a Drosophila gene that has an mRNA expression pattern somewhat similar to that of vasa and also encodes a DEAD box protein. We have termed this gene ME31B to reflect its maternal (ovarian germ-line) expression and its location within the 31B chromosome region. Comparisons with the other members of this family reveal that although ME31B is most like the protein Tif1/Tif2, which probably represents the Saccharomyces cerevisiae version of eIF4A, it is unlikely that ME31B represents the Drosophila eIF4A protein per se. A search for mutations in the ME31B gene has established that the P element which causes the female-sterile mutation flipper lies in the 3' flank of the ME31B gene.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Rice University, Houston, TX 77251.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: de Valoir
authors.forename: M A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Tucker
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Belikoff
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Camp
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bolduc
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Beckingham
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases / Q000235:genetics*; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004331:Drosophila melanogaster / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D009154:Mutation; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D004247:DNA; D053487:DEAD-box RNA Helicases