Premium
β‐TUBULIN GENE OF PORPHYRA PURPUREA ( RHODOPHYTA) 1
Author(s) -
MacKay Ron M.,
Gallant Jeffrey W.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of phycology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.85
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1529-8817
pISSN - 0022-3646
DOI - 10.1046/j.1529-8817.2002.02017.x
Subject(s) - biology , gametophyte , gene , sporophyte , chlamydomonas reinhardtii , genetics , porphyra , marchantia polymorpha , leafy , tubulin , microtubule , botany , algae , pollen , mutant
The life cycle of the marine red alga Porphyra purpurea (Roth) C. Agardh includes a shell‐boring filamentous sporophyte and a leafy gametophyte. A single intronless gene for the microtubule protein β‐tubulin was discovered by molecular cloning of P. purpurea cDNA and genomic DNA. This gene, named TubB1 , encodes a β‐tubulin with a divergent amino acid sequence, showing 74% identity with the conserved β‐tubulin of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii P. A. Dangeard. Southern hybridization analysis of nuclear DNA confirmed that P. purpurea has a single TubB1 gene. Transcripts (1.8 kb) of TubB1 are present in the sporophyte and gametophyte. Codon bias indicates strong expression of TubB1 . The divergent nature of the TubB1 genes suggests that the absence of axonemal structures has allowed substantial genetic drift in red algal β‐tubulin genes.