Open AccessStructure and organization of four clustered genes that encode bombyxin, an insulin-related brain secretory peptide of the silkmoth Bombyx mori.
Author(s) -
Atsushi Kawakami,
Masafumi Iwami,
Hiromichi Nagasawa,
Akira Suzuki,
Hironori Ishizaki
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.86.18.6843
Subject(s) - bombyx , biology , gene , bombyx mori , homology (biology) , encode , genetics , genomic organization , signal peptide , genome , gene family , genomic dna , peptide sequence
Four genes encoding bombyxin have been located in a 14-kilobase Bombyx genomic DNA segment. All of these genes encode preprobombyxin, the precursor molecule for bombyxin, with the domain organization of signal peptide/B chain/C peptide/A chain. Bombyxins are classified as family A or B according to their sequence homology. Two genes, each belonging to a different family, are closely apposed to form a pair with opposite orientation, presumably forming a regulatory unit for transcription. Genomic Southern blot hybridization suggested that there are many such gene pairs in the Bombyx genome. Differences between bombyxin genes and vertebrate insulin-family genes indicate that different mechanisms operate in the evolution of invertebrate and vertebrate insulin-family genes.