Open AccessSequence structures of two developmentally regulated, alternative DNA deletion junctions in Tetrahymena thermophila.
Author(s) -
C F Austerberry,
Meng-Chao Yao
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
molecular and cellular biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.14
H-Index - 327
eISSN - 1067-8824
pISSN - 0270-7306
DOI - 10.1128/mcb.8.9.3947
Subject(s) - tetrahymena , biology , genetics , sequence (biology) , dna , nucleic acid sequence , holliday junction , inverted repeat , base pair , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , homologous recombination , genome
Deletions of specific DNA sequences are known to occur in Tetrahymena thermophila as a developmentally regulated process. Deletions of a particular region (region M) were previously shown to be of two alternative sizes, 0.6 or 0.9 kilobases (kb) (C.F. Austerberry, C.D. Allis, and M.-C. Yao, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 81: 7383-7387). In this study, the nucleotide sequences for both deletions were determined. These two deletions share the same right junction, but their left junctions are 0.3 kb apart. An 8-base-pair (bp) sequence is present at both junctions of the 0.6-kb deletion, but only 5 bp of this direct repeat are present at the left junction of the 0.9-kb deletion. Further comparison revealed a common 10-bp sequence near each of the two left junctions and a similar sequence in inverted orientation near the right junction. These sequences may play a role in the developmental regulation of the deletion process.