title: Common genomic structure for the Lepidoptera cadherin-like genes.
abstract: A cadherin-like protein present in the midgut epithelial cells of Lepidoptera is associated with insect resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis Cry toxins. We describe for the first time the genes that encode the cadherin-like proteins in Ostrinia nubilalis, Helicoverpa armigera, and Bombyx mori, and analyze their organization. These genes encompass 19.6 kb, 20.0 kb, and 41.8 kb of genomic DNA, respectively, and despite the size heterogeneity, they are all composed of 35 exons that are linked by 34 introns. In contrast to the high variability noted for the sizes of the introns, the sizes of the coding exons were almost completely preserved among the three species, because the intronic sequences (except the first and last one) were inserted in homologous positions in the respective cDNA sequences. In all cases, the first intron (the longest one) was located in the 5'-untranslated region. These results point out a highly conserved structure that indicates that these genes are orthologous. Analysis of the gene sequences showed a common GC-rich region located in exon 31 and several tandem repeats that were specific for each gene. Partial sequences from transposable elements were found only in B. mori and accounted, in part, for the large size of the insect gene. The in silico analysis of the protein products of these genes showed a common structure and grouped these proteins into the protocadherin family.
authors.affiliation: Genetics Department, University of Valencia, Dr Moliner, 50, 46100, Burjassot, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Yolanda
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bel
authors.forename: Baltasar
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Escriche
mesh_terms: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D020121:5' Untranslated Regions; D000818:Animals; D015820:Cadherins / Q000235:genetics*; D002448:Cell Adhesion / Q000235:genetics*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D019295:Computational Biology; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D005091:Exons; D007438:Introns; D007915:Lepidoptera / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017421:Sequence Analysis
chemical_list: D020413:3' Untranslated Regions; D020121:5' Untranslated Regions; D015820:Cadherins