title: A PSTTLRE-form of cdc2-like gene in the marine microalga Dunaliella tertiolecta.
abstract: To understand the genetic control of algal cell division cycle that pertains to phytoplankton bloom dynamics in the sea, we cloned and analyzed a gene coding for a cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) for the chlorophyte Dunaliella tertiolecta. The cDNA cloned, 1061 bp long, contained an open reading frame of 314 amino acids. FASTA and GAP analyses showed that this sequence was most homologous to cdc2 out of all known cdks, with an identity of 54-68% and a similarity of 65-76% to cdc2 in higher plants, animals, and yeast. Several signature domains of cdc2 were identified from this sequence, although the PSTAIRE and GDSEID motifs were replaced with PSTTLRE and GDCELQ, respectively. Southern blot hybridization demonstrated that this gene occurred as a single copy in this species, and quantitative RT-PCR showed that the transcription of this gene was constitutive. The present results suggest that the universal cdc2 is conserved in the lower eukaryote with unique structural characteristics.
authors.affiliation: Marine Sciences Research Center, State University of New York, Stony Brook 11794, USA. selin@ms.cc.sunysb.edu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Carpenter
mesh_terms: D020418:Algal Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D001665:Binding Sites; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D016203:CDC2 Protein Kinase / Q000235:genetics*; D000460:Chlorophyta / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D018628:Gene Dosage; D015870:Gene Expression; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012623:Seawater; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D020418:Algal Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D004247:DNA; D016203:CDC2 Protein Kinase