Nucleic Acids Research, Vol 25, Issue 12 2365-2374, Copyright © 1997 by Oxford University Press
SK Lee, SL Yu, MX Garcia, H Alexander and S Alexander
DNA helicases are essential to many cellular processes including
recombination, replication and transcription, and some helicases function
in multiple processes. The helicases encoded by the Xeroderma pigmentosum
(XP) B and D genes function in both nucleotide excision repair and
transcription initiation. Mutations that affect the repair function of
these proteins result in XP while mutations affecting transcription result
in neurological and developmental abnormalities, although the underlying
molecular and cellular basis for these phenotypes is not well understood.
To better understand the developmental roles of these genes, we have now
identified and characterized the rep B and rep D genes from the cellular
slime mold Dictyostelium discoideum . Both genes encode DNA helicases of
the SF2 superfamily of helicases. The rep D gene contains no introns and
the rep B gene contains only one intron, which makes their genomic
structures dramatically different from the corresponding genes in mammals
and fish. However the predicted Dictyostelium proteins share high homology
with the human XPB and XPD proteins. The single copy of the rep B and D
genes map to chromosomes 3 and 1, respectively. The expression of rep B and
D (and the previously isolated rep E) genes during multicellular
development was examined, and it was determined that each rep gene has a
unique pattern of expression, consistent with the idea that they have
specific roles in development. The pattern and extent of expression of
these genes was not affected by the growth history of the cells, implying
that the expression of these genes is tightly regulated by the
developmental program. The expression of the rep genes is a very early step
in development and may well represent a key event in the initiation of
development in this organism.
ARTICLES
Differential developmental expression of the rep B and rep D xeroderma pigmentosum related DNA helicase genes from Dictyostelium discoideum
Division of Biological Sciences, 403 Tucker Hall, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
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