Robin_1996_J.Mol.Evol_43_241

Reference

Title : Duplication and divergence of the genes of the alpha-esterase cluster of Drosophila melanogaster - Robin_1996_J.Mol.Evol_43_241
Author(s) : Robin C , Russell RJ , Medveczky KM , Oakeshott JG
Ref : Journal of Molecular Evolution , 43 :241 , 1996
Abstract :

The alpha-esterase cluster of D. melanogaster contains 11 esterase genes dispersed over 60 kb. Embedded in the cluster are two unrelated open reading frames that have sequence similarity with genes encoding ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme and tropomyosin. The esterase amino acid sequences show 37-66% identity with one another and all but one have all the motifs characteristic of functional members of the carboxyl/cholinesterase multigene family. The exception has several frameshift mutations and appears to be a pseudogene. Patterns of amino acid differences among cluster members in relation to generic models of carboxyl/cholinesterase protein structure are broadly similar to those among other carboxyl/cholinesterases sequenced to date. However the alpha-esterases differ from most other members of the family in: their lack of a signal peptide; the lack of conservation in cysteines involved in disulfide bridges; and in four indels, two of which occur in or adjacent to regions that align with proposed substrate-binding sites of other carboxyl/cholinesterases. Phylogenetic analyses clearly identify three simple gene duplication events within the cluster. The most recent event involved the pseudogene which is located in an intron of another esterase gene. However, relative rate tests suggest that the pseudogene remained functional after the duplication event and has become inactive relatively recently. The distribution of indels also suggests a deeper node in the gene phylogeny that separates six genes at the two ends of the cluster from a block of five in the middle.

PubMedSearch : Robin_1996_J.Mol.Evol_43_241
PubMedID: 8703090
Gene_locus related to this paper: drome-aes01 , drome-aes02 , drome-aes03 , drome-aes04 , drome-aes05 , drome-aes06 , drome-aes08 , drome-aes09 , drome-aes10 , drome-EST23aes07

Related information

Gene_locus drome-aes01    drome-aes02    drome-aes03    drome-aes04    drome-aes05    drome-aes06    drome-aes08    drome-aes09    drome-aes10    drome-EST23aes07

Citations formats

Robin C, Russell RJ, Medveczky KM, Oakeshott JG (1996)
Duplication and divergence of the genes of the alpha-esterase cluster of Drosophila melanogaster
Journal of Molecular Evolution 43 :241

Robin C, Russell RJ, Medveczky KM, Oakeshott JG (1996)
Journal of Molecular Evolution 43 :241