A Trypanosoma brucei gene family encoding protein kinases with catalytic domains structurally related to Nek1 and NIMA.
Using polymerase chain reaction technology we cloned a Trypanosoma brucei gene fragment that has a deduced amino acid sequence with a high degree of homology to protein kinase catalytic domains. This clone detects two genes by genomic Southern analysis. These genes, nrkA and nrkB, share a 97% nt sequence homology over their 1.3-kb coding regions. NrkA encodes a 48-kDa protein which possess all 11 protein kinase homology regions. The 279-aa N-terminal catalytic domain has highest homology with Nek1, a bifunctional kinase, and NIMA, a protein serine/threonine kinase. Both alleles at the nrkB locus in T. brucei strain IsTAR 1 encode a truncated protein kinase catalytic domain due the presence of a premature termination codon. However, the TREU667 strain is heterozygous at the nrkB locus, encoding one truncated and one full-length molecule. NrkA and NrkB possess multiple phosphorylation site motifs. Both nrk transcripts are constitutively expressed during parasite development.
Department of Pathobiology, University of Washington, Seattle 98195.
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Gale
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Parsons
D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics; D017125:Genes, Protozoan; D051379:Mice; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D010766:Phosphorylation; D011494:Protein Kinases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014346:Trypanosoma brucei brucei / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics*
D016054:DNA, Protozoan; D011494:Protein Kinases