title: Structure and developmentally regulated expression of a Strongylocentrotus purpuratus collagen gene.
abstract: We have isolated and partially characterized an ca. 20-kilobase-pair Strongylocentrotus purpuratus genomic clone, using a mouse alpha 1 (type IV) collagen cDNA probe. A 1-kilobase-pair HindIII fragment of the clone hybridizes strongly to the probe; this has been subcloned and sequenced. It contains 212 base pairs of sequence coding for (Gly-Xaa-Yaa)n (where Xaa and Yaa are different unspecified amino acids), characteristic of all known collagen genes. There is a single point of discontinuity within the repeating pattern in this exon, similar to the genomic structure of mouse type IV collagen. The (Gly-Xaa-Yaa)n-encoding element is flanked by consensus splicing sequences, and the intervening sequences on either side of it have multiple in-phase termination codons. Electron microscopy of R loops between the phage lambda recombinant clone and poly(A)+ RNA reveals multiple short exons, a feature also seen in vertebrate collagen genes. The (Gly-Xaa-Yaa)n protein-encoding sequence hybridizes to a developmentally regulated 9-kilobase mRNA; the message appears during the morula stage, rises sharply in abundance at the blastula stage, and decreases in proportion to total RNA later in development.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Venkatesan
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: de Pablo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vogeli
authors.forename: R T
authors.initials: RT
authors.lastname: Simpson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001755:Blastocyst / Q000502:physiology; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003094:Collagen / Q000235:genetics*; D005775:Gastrula / Q000502:physiology; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D005796:Genes; D007814:Larva / Q000502:physiology; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D012617:Sea Urchins / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D003094:Collagen