Summary
The serotype H immobilization antigen (H i-ag) gene of Paramecium tetraurelia was isolated from a genomic library by screening with the H i-ag transcript. The gene is 7.5 kb long and contains no introns. Similar to other i-ag genes, it does not undergo rearrangement or duplication upon expression. In contrast, only the H i-ag gene appears to be non-adjacent to a telomere. Sequence comparisons between the H, A, and C i-ag genes of stock 51 and the G i-ag gene of stock 156 identify conserved upstream sites and extensive homology in the 3′ non-coding region. Several of these sites may be involved in regulating the expression of the i-ags. Segments of amino acid homology among these genes are also predicted by the DNA sequences.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Borst P, Cross GAM (1982) Molecular basis for trypanosome antigenic variation. Cell 29:291–303
Campbell DA, Thornton DA, Boothroyd JC (1984) Apparent discontinous transcription of Trypanosoma brucei variant surface antigen genes. Nature 311:350–355
Caron F, Meyer E (1985) Does Paramecium primaurelia use a different genetic code in its macronucleus? Nature 314:185–188
Epstein LM, Forney JD (1984) Mendelian and non-mendelian mutations affecting surface antigen expression of Paramecium tetraurelia. Mol Cell Biol 4:1583–1590
Finger I (1974) Surface antigens of Paramecium aurelia. In: van Wagtendonk WJ (ed) Paramecium, a current survey. Elsevier, New York, pp 131–164
Forney JD (1984) Structure and expression of surface antigen genes in Paramecium tetraurelia. Ph.D. Thesis, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN
Forney JD, Epstein LM, Preer LB, Rudman BM, Widmayer DJ, Klein WH, Preer JR Jr (1983) Structure and expression of genes for surface proteins in Paramecium. Mol Cell Biol 3:466–474
Hall L, Laird JE, Craig RK (1984) Nucleotide sequence determination of guinea-pig casein B mRNA reveals homology with bovine and rat alpha caseins and conservation of the non-coding regions of the mRNA. Biochem J 222:561–570
Hanyu N, Kuchino Y, Susumu N (1986) Dramatic events in ciliate evolution: alteration of UAA and UAG termination codons to glutamine codons due to anticodon mutations in two Tetrahymena tRNAsgln. EMBO J 5:1307–1311
Lane DJ, Pace B, Olsen GJ, Sogin ML, Pace N (1985) Rapid determination of 16S ribosomal RNA sequences for phylogenetic analyses. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 82:6955–6959
Maniatis T, Fritsch EF, Sambrook J (1982) Molecular cloning: a laboratory manual. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York
Maxam AM, Gilbert W (1980) Sequencing end-labelled DNA with base specific chemical cleavages. Methods Enzymol 65:499–560
Meyer E, Caron F, Baroin A (1985) Macronuclear structure of the G surface antigen gene of Paramecium primaurelia and direct expression of its repeated epitopes in Escherichia coli. Mol Cell Biol 5:2414–2422
Ordahl CP, Cooper TA (1983) Strong homology in the promoter and 3′ untranslated regions of chick and rat alpha-actin genes. Nature 303:348–349
Prat A, Katinka M, Caron F, Meyer E (1986) Nucleotide sequence of the Paramecium primaurelia G surface protein. A huge protein with a highly periodic structure. J Mol Biol 189:47–60
Preer JR Jr (1969) Genetics of protozoa. In: Chen TT (ed) Research in protozoology. Pergamon Press, Oxford, pp 139–288
Preer JR Jr, Preer LB (1979) The size of macronuclear DNA and its relationship to models for maintaining genic balance. J Protozool 26:14–18
Preer JR Jr, Preer LB, Rudman BM (1981) mRNAs for the immobilization antigens of Paramecium. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 78:6776–6778
Preer JR Jr, Preer LB, Rudman BM, Barnett AJ (1985) Deviation from the genetic code shown by the gene for surface protein 51A in Paramecium. Nature 314:188–190
Preer JR Jr, Preer LB, Rudman BM, Barnett AJ (1987) Molecular biology of the genes for immobilization antigens in Paramecium. J Protozool (in press)
Reisner AH (1955) A method of obtaining specific serotype mutants in Paramecium aurelia stock 169, variety 4. Genetics 40:591–592
Russell DW, Smith M, Cox D, Williamson DA, Young ET (1983) DNA sequences of 2 yeast up-promoter mutants. Nature 304:652–654
Shepherd JCW (1981) Method to determine the reading frame of a protein from the purine/pyrimidine genome sequence and its possible evolutionary justification. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 78:1596–1600
Sommerville J (1970) Serotype expression in Paramecium. Adv Microb Physiol 4:131–178
Sonneborn TM (1950) Methods in the general biology and genetics of Paramecium aurelia. J Exp Zool 113:87–143
Sonneborn TM (1975) Paramecium aurelia. In: King RC (ed) Handbook of genetics, vol 2. Plenum Press, New York, pp 469–594
Southern EM (1975) Detection of specific sequences among DNA fragments separated by gel electrophoresis. J Mol Biol 98:503–578
Steers E Jr (1965) Amin acid composition and quaternary structure of an immobilization antigen from Paramecium aurelia. Biochemistry 4:1896–1901
Struhl K (1985) Naturally occurring poly (dA-dT) are upstream promoter elements for constitutive transcription in yeast. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 82:8419–8423
Van der Ploeg LHT, Cornelissan AWCA, Michels PAM, Borst P (1984) Chromosome rearrangements in Trypanosoma brucei. Cell 29:213–221
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Communicated by B.J. Kilbey
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Godiska, R. Structure and sequence of the H surface protein gene of Paramecium and comparison with related genes. Mol Gen Genet 208, 529–536 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00328151
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00328151