title: Molecular evolution of the paired gene in Drosophila: cloning and characterization of the partial paired gene from Drosophila willistoni.
abstract: A partial paired gene of Drosophila willistoni containing the paired box and extended homeo box was amplified by PCR and the nucleotide sequence of 1141 bp was determined. Comparison of the paired genes in D. willistoni and D. melanogaster showed that the proportions of identical nucleotide sites in the coding region and identical amino acid sites were 73.8 and 86.5%, respectively. The amino acid sites in the N-terminal region, the paired box, and the extended homeo box were 88.5, 95.3, and 98.6% identical in the two species. The rates of amino acid substitution for these regions were estimated to be 1.73 x 10(-9), 0.67 x 10(-9), and 0.19 x 10(-9)/site/year, respectively. In contrast, the connecting region between the two boxes has been highly diverged and evolved very rapidly, 18.3 x 10(-9)/site/year, suggesting almost no functional constraint in the connecting region.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematical and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Integrated Arts and Sciences, University of Tokushima, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsuo
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003062:Codon / Q000235:genetics; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005801:Genes, Homeobox / Q000235:genetics*; D017344:Genes, Insect / Q000235:genetics*; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D003062:Codon; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C489935:prd protein, Drosophila