title: Molecular cloning and developmental expression of the alpha-2 tubulin gene of Caenorhabditis elegans.
abstract: Alpha tubulin isotypes are encoded by at least four genes designated alpha-1 to alpha-4 in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We describe here, molecular cloning of the alpha-2 tubulin gene, located on chromosome I, that encodes a protein of 449 amino acids that has high homology to human, mouse and Drosophila alpha tubulins, but relatively lower homology to the yeast alpha tubulins. The alpha-2 tubulin gene is trans-spliced to the SL1 leader sequence. Northern analysis shows that the gene is increasingly transcribed during the early (L1-L3) larval stages but has a lower level of transcription in L4 L4 larvae, adults, and embryos. Using an alpha-2-lacZ fusion gene expression in transgenic animals, we show that the gene is expressed in a tissue-specific manner in the intestine, pharyngeal muscle cells, and a subset of neurons which include a class of DB and VB motor neurons in the ventral nerve cord, posterior touch receptor neurons, PLML, PLMR, in the lumbar ganglia; PVT in the pre-anal ganglion, and ALA in the dorsal ganglion in the head. Our results support the notion that tubulin structure may contribute to the functional specialization of microtubules.
authors.affiliation: Department of Ecological Engineering Toyohashi University of Technology, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukushige
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yasuda
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Siddiqui
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D017238:Genes, Helminth; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D012326:RNA Splicing; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014018:Tissue Distribution; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014404:Tubulin / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D012333:RNA, Messenger; D014404:Tubulin