title: Genomic organization and expression analysis for hcstk, a serine/threonine protein kinase gene of Haemonchus contortus, and comparison with Caenorhabditis elegans par-1.
abstract: The organization and expression of a putative serine/threonine kinase gene (designated hcstk), proposed to relate to a conserved eukaryotic signal transduction pathway, was characterized for the socio-economically important pathogen Haemonchus contortus (Nematoda). The entire hcstk gene is approximately 26.7 kb in size, has 26 exons and is inferred to produce multiple isoforms via alternative splicing in its N-terminal header and spacer domains. Comparison of hcstk with its Caenorhabditis elegans homologue, par-1, revealed major differences in genomic organization, exon number and inferred mRNA processing. The expression of hcstk transcripts was highest in the first- and late-fourth-stage larvae of the parasite compared with other developmental stages, somewhat distinct from par-1 in C. elegans. In spite of a substantial amino acid sequence identity in the functional domains between the predicted proteins HcSTK and PAR-1, overall, the findings suggest a unique functional role for each molecule.
authors.affiliation: Primary Industries Research Victoria (Animal Genetics and Genomics), 475 Mickleham Road, Attwood, Victoria 3049, Australia.
authors.forename: Sia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nikolaou
authors.forename: Dadna
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hartman
authors.forename: Alasdair J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Nisbet
authors.forename: Paul J A
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Presidente
authors.forename: Robin B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Gasser
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D017173:Caenorhabditis elegans / Q000235:genetics*; D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D016384:Consensus Sequence; D020451:Contig Mapping; D005091:Exons; D015870:Gene Expression; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D016678:Genome; D006189:Haemonchus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D022821:RNA Splice Sites; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D029742:Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D022821:RNA Splice Sites; C409406:PAR-1 protein, C elegans; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases