Linkage and evolutionary diversification of developmentally regulated multigene families: tandem arrays of the 401/18 chorion gene pair in silkmoths.

The coordinately expressed silkmoth chorion genes, 401 and 18, are closely linked as a pair, in divergent orientation. Analysis of overlapping clones (chromosomal "walk") demonstrated that each of the multiple copies of this gene pair is embedded within a larger deoxyribonucleic acid unit, which is tandemly repeated in a few arrays or possibly a single array. Southern analysis and examination of clones from a single individual moth demonstrated that the repeat units are extensively polymorphic in restriction sites, length, and possibly number, no differential amplification was evident during choriogenesis. Intron and 5'-flanking sequences were shown to be specific for the 401/18 gene pair and not to be present elsewhere in the genome. The spatial distribution of variations in the genes and their flanking sequences were examined.