Biomaterial Database

DNA amplification in antifolate-resistant Leishmania. The thymidylate synthase-dihydrofolate reductase gene and abundant mRNAs. 1985

W L Washtien, and R Grumont, and D V Santi

Leishmania tropica promastigotes selected for resistance to the dihydrofolate reductase inhibitor, methotrexate, or the thymidylate synthase inhibitor, 5,8-dideaza-10-propargyl folate, overproduce a bifunctional thymidylate synthase-dihydrofolate reductase and possess a 30-kilobase region of amplified DNA. Five fragments, resulting from BglII digestion of this amplified DNA, were cloned into vectors and utilized as probes to examine mRNA in these organisms. Four mRNA species which hybridize to the amplified DNA sequences were found in both resistant and wild-type Leishmania, but were about 40-fold more abundant in the drug-resistant cells. Three of the four mRNAs are transcribed from the same strand of DNA, are clustered, and appear to have partial overlapping sequences. The thymidylate synthase-dihydrofolate reductase gene was localized to a specific region of the amplified unit of DNA by hybridization with mouse cDNA containing thymidylate synthase sequences and with a synthetic oligonucleotide 41 nucleotides in length, prepared on the basis of the partial amino acid sequence of the Leishmania enzyme. Furthermore, mRNA hybrid-selected using a plasmid containing sequences of the putative gene was shown to direct in vitro synthesis of the bifunctional protein.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007891	Leishmania	A genus of flagellate protozoa comprising several species that are pathogenic for humans. Organisms of this genus have an amastigote and a promastigote stage in their life cycles. As a result of enzymatic studies this single genus has been divided into two subgenera: Leishmania leishmania and Leishmania viannia. Species within the Leishmania leishmania subgenus include: L. aethiopica, L. arabica, L. donovani, L. enrietti, L. gerbilli, L. hertigi, L. infantum, L. major, L. mexicana, and L. tropica. The following species are those that compose the Leishmania viannia subgenus: L. braziliensis, L. guyanensis, L. lainsoni, L. naiffi, and L. shawi.	Leishmania (Leishmania),Leishmania (Viannia),Leishmania leishmania,Leishmania viannia,Leishmania leishmanias,Leishmania viannias,Leishmanias,Leishmanias (Leishmania),Leishmanias (Viannia),leishmanias, Leishmania,viannias, Leishmania
D008780	Methyltransferases	A subclass of enzymes of the transferase class that catalyze the transfer of a methyl group from one compound to another. (Dorland, 28th ed) EC 2.1.1.	Methyltransferase
D009693	Nucleic Acid Hybridization	Widely used technique which exploits the ability of complementary sequences in single-stranded DNAs or RNAs to pair with each other to form a double helix. Hybridization can take place between two complimentary DNA sequences, between a single-stranded DNA and a complementary RNA, or between two RNA sequences. The technique is used to detect and isolate specific sequences, measure homology, or define other characteristics of one or both strands. (Kendrew, Encyclopedia of Molecular Biology, 1994, p503)	Genomic Hybridization,Acid Hybridization, Nucleic,Acid Hybridizations, Nucleic,Genomic Hybridizations,Hybridization, Genomic,Hybridization, Nucleic Acid,Hybridizations, Genomic,Hybridizations, Nucleic Acid,Nucleic Acid Hybridizations
D011061	Poly A	A group of adenine ribonucleotides in which the phosphate residues of each adenine ribonucleotide act as bridges in forming diester linkages between the ribose moieties.	Adenine Polynucleotides,Polyadenylic Acids,Poly(rA),Polynucleotides, Adenine
D002460	Cell Line	Established cell cultures that have the potential to propagate indefinitely.	Cell Lines,Line, Cell,Lines, Cell
D004262	DNA Restriction Enzymes	Enzymes that are part of the restriction-modification systems. They catalyze the endonucleolytic cleavage of DNA sequences which lack the species-specific methylation pattern in the host cell's DNA. Cleavage yields random or specific double-stranded fragments with terminal 5'-phosphates. The function of restriction enzymes is to destroy any foreign DNA that invades the host cell. Most have been studied in bacterial systems, but a few have been found in eukaryotic organisms. They are also used as tools for the systematic dissection and mapping of chromosomes, in the determination of base sequences of DNAs, and have made it possible to splice and recombine genes from one organism into the genome of another. EC 3.21.1.	Restriction Endonucleases,DNA Restriction Enzyme,Restriction Endonuclease,Endonuclease, Restriction,Endonucleases, Restriction,Enzymes, DNA Restriction,Restriction Enzyme, DNA,Restriction Enzymes, DNA
D005784	Gene Amplification	A selective increase in the number of copies of a gene coding for a specific protein without a proportional increase in other genes. It occurs naturally via the excision of a copy of the repeating sequence from the chromosome and its extrachromosomal replication in a plasmid, or via the production of an RNA transcript of the entire repeating sequence of ribosomal RNA followed by the reverse transcription of the molecule to produce an additional copy of the original DNA sequence. Laboratory techniques have been introduced for inducing disproportional replication by unequal crossing over, uptake of DNA from lysed cells, or generation of extrachromosomal sequences from rolling circle replication.	Amplification, Gene
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001426	Bacterial Proteins	Proteins found in any species of bacterium.	Bacterial Gene Products,Bacterial Gene Proteins,Gene Products, Bacterial,Bacterial Gene Product,Bacterial Gene Protein,Bacterial Protein,Gene Product, Bacterial,Gene Protein, Bacterial,Gene Proteins, Bacterial,Protein, Bacterial,Proteins, Bacterial
D012313	RNA	A polynucleotide consisting essentially of chains with a repeating backbone of phosphate and ribose units to which nitrogenous bases are attached. RNA is unique among biological macromolecules in that it can encode genetic information, serve as an abundant structural component of cells, and also possesses catalytic activity. (Rieger et al., Glossary of Genetics: Classical and Molecular, 5th ed)	RNA, Non-Polyadenylated,Ribonucleic Acid,Gene Products, RNA,Non-Polyadenylated RNA,Acid, Ribonucleic,Non Polyadenylated RNA,RNA Gene Products,RNA, Non Polyadenylated