Biomaterial Database

Regulatory myosin light-chain genes of Caenorhabditis elegans. 1988

C Cummins, and P Anderson

Department of Genetics, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53706.

We have cloned and analyzed the Caenorhabditis elegans regulatory myosin light-chain genes. C. elegans contains two such genes, which we have designated mlc-1 and mlc-2. The two genes are separated by 2.6 kilobases and are divergently transcribed. We determined the complete nucleotide sequences of both mlc-1 and mlc-2. A single, conservative amino acid substitution distinguishes the sequences of the two proteins. The C. elegans proteins are strongly homologous to regulatory myosin light chains of Drosophila melanogaster and vertebrates and weakly homologous to a superfamily of eucaryotic calcium-binding proteins. Both mlc-1 and mlc-2 encode abundant mRNAs. We mapped the 5' termini of these transcripts by using primer extension sequencing of mRNA templates. mlc-1 mRNAs initiate within conserved hexanucleotides at two different positions, located at -28 and -38 relative to the start of translation. The 5' terminus of mlc-2 mRNA is not encoded in the 4.8-kilobase genomic region upstream of mlc-2. Rather, mlc-2 mRNA contains at its 5' end a short, untranslated leader sequence that is identical to the trans-spliced leader sequence of three C. elegans actin genes.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008969	Molecular Sequence Data	Descriptions of specific amino acid, carbohydrate, or nucleotide sequences which have appeared in the published literature and/or are deposited in and maintained by databanks such as GENBANK, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), National Biomedical Research Foundation (NBRF), or other sequence repositories.	Sequence Data, Molecular,Molecular Sequencing Data,Data, Molecular Sequence,Data, Molecular Sequencing,Sequencing Data, Molecular
D009218	Myosins	A diverse superfamily of proteins that function as translocating proteins. They share the common characteristics of being able to bind ACTINS and hydrolyze MgATP. Myosins generally consist of heavy chains which are involved in locomotion, and light chains which are involved in regulation. Within the structure of myosin heavy chain are three domains: the head, the neck and the tail. The head region of the heavy chain contains the actin binding domain and MgATPase domain which provides energy for locomotion. The neck region is involved in binding the light-chains. The tail region provides the anchoring point that maintains the position of the heavy chain. The superfamily of myosins is organized into structural classes based upon the type and arrangement of the subunits they contain.	Myosin ATPase,ATPase, Actin-Activated,ATPase, Actomyosin,ATPase, Myosin,Actin-Activated ATPase,Actomyosin ATPase,Actomyosin Adenosinetriphosphatase,Adenosine Triphosphatase, Myosin,Adenosinetriphosphatase, Actomyosin,Adenosinetriphosphatase, Myosin,Myosin,Myosin Adenosinetriphosphatase,ATPase, Actin Activated,Actin Activated ATPase,Myosin Adenosine Triphosphatase
D010446	Peptide Fragments	Partial proteins formed by partial hydrolysis of complete proteins or generated through PROTEIN ENGINEERING techniques.	Peptide Fragment,Fragment, Peptide,Fragments, Peptide
D010957	Plasmids	Extrachromosomal, usually CIRCULAR DNA molecules that are self-replicating and transferable from one organism to another. They are found in a variety of bacterial, archaeal, fungal, algal, and plant species. They are used in GENETIC ENGINEERING as CLONING VECTORS.	Episomes,Episome,Plasmid
D002107	Caenorhabditis	A genus of small free-living nematodes. Two species, CAENORHABDITIS ELEGANS and C. briggsae are much used in studies of genetics, development, aging, muscle chemistry, and neuroanatomy.	Caenorhabditides
D003001	Cloning, Molecular	The insertion of recombinant DNA molecules from prokaryotic and/or eukaryotic sources into a replicating vehicle, such as a plasmid or virus vector, and the introduction of the resultant hybrid molecules into recipient cells without altering the viability of those cells.	Molecular Cloning
D005796	Genes	A category of nucleic acid sequences that function as units of heredity and which code for the basic instructions for the development, reproduction, and maintenance of organisms.	Cistron,Gene,Genetic Materials,Cistrons,Genetic Material,Material, Genetic,Materials, Genetic
D005809	Genes, Regulator	Genes which regulate or circumscribe the activity of other genes; specifically, genes which code for PROTEINS or RNAs which have GENE EXPRESSION REGULATION functions.	Gene, Regulator,Regulator Gene,Regulator Genes,Regulatory Genes,Gene, Regulatory,Genes, Regulatory,Regulatory Gene
D000595	Amino Acid Sequence	The order of amino acids as they occur in a polypeptide chain. This is referred to as the primary structure of proteins. It is of fundamental importance in determining PROTEIN CONFORMATION.	Protein Structure, Primary,Amino Acid Sequences,Sequence, Amino Acid,Sequences, Amino Acid,Primary Protein Structure,Primary Protein Structures,Protein Structures, Primary,Structure, Primary Protein,Structures, Primary Protein
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