Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ribosomal Protein L37 is Encoded by Duplicate Genes That Are Differentially Expressed
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-1-1994
Department
Biological Sciences
School
Biological, Environmental, and Earth Sciences
Abstract
A duplicate copy of the RPL37A gene (encoding ribosomal protein L37) was cloned and sequenced. The coding region of RPL37B is very similar to that of RPL37A, with only one conservative amino-acid difference. However, the intron and flanking sequences of the two genes are extremely dissimilar. Disruption experiments indicate that the two loci are not functionally equivalent: disruption of RPL37B was insignificant, but disruption of RPL37A severely impaired the growth rate of the cell. When both RPL37 loci are disrupted, the cell is unable to grow at all, indicating that rpL37 is an essential protein. The functional disparity between the two RPL37 loci could be explained by differential gene expression. The results of two experiments support this idea: gene fusion of RPL37A to a reporter gene resulted in six-fold higher mRNA levels than was generated by the same reporter gene fused to RPL37B, and a modest increase in gene dosage of RPL37B overcame the lack of a functional RPL37A gene.
Publication Title
Current Genetics
Volume
25
Issue
6
First Page
480
Last Page
487
Recommended Citation
Tornow, J.,
Santangelo, G. M.
(1994). Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ribosomal Protein L37 is Encoded by Duplicate Genes That Are Differentially Expressed. Current Genetics, 25(6), 480-487.
Available at: https://aquila.usm.edu/fac_pubs/7229