title: Isolation of alpha-tubulin genes from the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum: sequence analysis of alpha-tubulin.
abstract: As a step towards identifying exploitable differences between host and parasite at the molecular level, we have isolated and sequenced genomic clones encompassing an entire alpha-tubulin gene (designated alpha-tubulin I) from the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. The gene, which contains two introns, encodes a product with a predicted length of 453 amino acid residues (50.3 kD). The protein sequence shows a high degree of homology to other alpha-tubulins, particularly that of the coccidian parasite, Toxoplasma gondii (94%), whose gene carries introns in identical positions. Only one copy of the alpha-tubulin I gene itself was found, although a second gene designated alpha-II was also identified which is closely related but which differs at both the nucleotide and amino acid sequence levels. The alpha-I and beta-tubulin genes were found to reside on different chromosomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry and Applied Molecular Biology, University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, UK.
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Holloway
authors.forename: P F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Sims
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Delves
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Scaife
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Hyde
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003062:Codon; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics; D005796:Genes; D007438:Introns; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics*; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014404:Tubulin / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D003062:Codon; D014404:Tubulin; D004247:DNA