Transcripts containing the sea urchin retroposon family 1 (SURF1) in embryos of the sea urchin Anthocidaris crassispina.
We isolated two cDNAs, termed D7 and C2 in the present study, from a cDNA library of the 16-cell embryo of the sea urchin Anthocidaris crassispina. The nucleotide sequence was determined completely for D7, and partially for C2. D7 does not have any significant open reading frames. Both D7 and C2 contain a common sequence that is 62% homologous to the sea urchin retroposon family 1 (SURF1). The SURF1 is a short interspersed repetitive element identified from the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, and is reported to be transcribed by RNA polymerase III. The structural feature of D7 and C2, however, suggests that they may be transcribed by RNA polymerase II. RT-PCR analyses revealed that (1) both D7 and C2 transcripts exist as a maternal RNA in the egg, (2) they appear evenly distributed in the 16-cell embryo, and (3) C2 transcripts are present throughout the development up to the gastrula, while D7 transcripts decrease in amount after the early cleavage stage.
Yamaguchi
M
M
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Kanazawa University, Japan.
Ohba
Y
Y
D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D012319:RNA Polymerase II / Q000378:metabolism; D012320:RNA Polymerase III / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics*; D018626:Retroelements; D012617:Sea Urchins / Q000196:embryology / Q000235:genetics*; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D018626:Retroelements; D012319:RNA Polymerase II; D012320:RNA Polymerase III