The two alleles of the hapP gene in Physarum polycephalum code for different proteins.
Many mRNAs show cell-type specific expression in the acellular slime mold Physarum polycephalum. The most abundant plasmodial-specific mRNA (hapP) encodes a small hydrophobic protein of 187 amino acids that contains a potential signal peptide. Southern hybridizations using the hapP cDNA showed that the hapP gene is a single copy gene with two alleles, hapP1 and hapP2. The alleles have restriction enzyme polymorphisms. The nucleotide sequence of the coding region of the hapP1 allele was obtained from a genomic clone, and the nucleotide sequence of the hapP2 allele was obtained from a cDNA clone. The hapP1 and hapP2 alleles code for proteins that are 9.6% different in amino acid sequence. All differences are found in the central region of the protein. The nucleotide sequences of the first and last exons, which contain coding and non-coding regions, are identical. PCR amplification of cDNAs (RT-PCR) showed that both alleles are expressed in the same cell.
Department of Biochemistry, Laval University, Ste-Foy, Québec, Canada.
G
G
Lépine
A
A
Laroche
G
G
Lemieux
D
D
Pallotta
D000483:Alleles; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D005091:Exons; D005656:Fungal Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D005800:Genes, Fungal; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016839:Physarum polycephalum / Q000235:genetics*
D005656:Fungal Proteins