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Linked Genes for Calmodulin and E2 Ubiquitin‐Conjugating Enzyme in Trichomonas vaginalis
Author(s) -
KEELING PATRICK J.,
DOHERTYKIRBY AMANDA L.,
TEH EVELYN M.,
DOOLITTLE W. FORD
Publication year - 1996
Publication title -
journal of eukaryotic microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 1066-5234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1996.tb04506.x
Subject(s) - biology , gene , trichomonas vaginalis , genetics , calmodulin , genome , gene family , enzyme , biochemistry
In searching the genomes of early‐diverging protists to study whether the possession of calmodulin is ancestral to all eukaryotes, the gene for calmodulin was identified in Trichomonas vaginalis. This flagellate is a member of the Parabasalia, one of the earliest lineages of recognized eukaryotes to have diverged. This sequence was used to isolate a homologous 1.250‐kb fragment from the T. vaginalis genome by inverse polymerase chain reaction. This fragment was also completely sequenced and shown to contain the 3′ end of the single‐copy calmodulin gene and the 3′ end of a gene encoding a protein with high similarity to E2 ubiquitin‐conjugating enzymes, a family which has previously only been identified in animals, plants, and fungi. Phylogenetic analysis of 50 members of the E2 family distinguishes at least nine separate subfamilies one of which includes the T. vaginalis E2‐homologue and an uncharacterized gene from yeast chromosome XII.