Elongation factor 1 alpha genes of the red alga Porphyra purpurea include a novel, developmentally specialized variant.
The life cycle of the red alga Porphyra purpurea alternates between two morphologically distinct phases: a shell-boring, filamentous sporophyte and a free-living, foliose gametophyte. From a subtracted cDNA library enriched for sporophyte-specific sequences, we isolated a cDNA encoding an unusual elongation factor 1 alpha (EF-1 alpha) that is expressed only in the sporophyte. A second EF-1 alpha gene that is expressed equally in the sporophyte and the gametophyte was isolated from a genomic library. These are the only EF-1 alpha genes detectable in P. purpurea. The constitutively expressed gene encodes an EF-1 alpha very similar to those of most eukaryotes. However, the sporophyte-specific EF-1 alpha is one of the most divergent yet described, with nine insertions or deletions ranging in size from 1 to 26 amino acids. This is the first report of a developmental stage-specific EF-1 alpha outside of the animal kingdom and suggests a fundamental role for EF-1 alpha in the developmental process.
Liu
Q Y
QY
Institute for Marine Biosciences, National Research Council of Canada, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Baldauf
S L
SL
Reith
M E
ME
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020648:Peptide Elongation Factor 1; D010445:Peptide Elongation Factors / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D000461:Rhodophyta / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D020648:Peptide Elongation Factor 1; D010445:Peptide Elongation Factors; D010940:Plant Proteins