title: The Drosophila Ret gene is transcribed in multiple alternatively spliced forms.
abstract: We have cloned and sequenced the 5' and 3' ends of the Drosophila homolog of the vertebrate c-ret gene, Ret, and have derived from it the predicted protein sequence of Ret. The extracellular domain of Ret is very widely diverged from that of its vertebrate counterparts but the cadherin motif present in vertebrate c-ret proteins can also be discerned in Ret. As with the vertebrate gene, multiple splice variants were detected at the 5'-end of Ret, one of which inserts an exon with a protein-terminating frameshift into the cDNA. In contrast to human c-ret, which may vary its signalling specificity by using splicing-derived, alternative C-terminal sequences, Ret cDNAs showed no variation at their 3'-ends.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, UK. smh1008@cus.cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: D S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Huen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Elsdon
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Ponder
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D015820:Cadherins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D004330:Drosophila / Q000235:genetics*; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D005091:Exons; D006801:Humans; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D008957:Models, Genetic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D051096:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret; D012313:RNA / Q000235:genetics; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D015820:Cadherins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D029721:Drosophila Proteins; D019476:Insect Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D012313:RNA; D051096:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-ret; D020794:Receptor Protein-Tyrosine Kinases; C416649:Ret protein, Drosophila