Bewley, G.C., Cook, J.L., Kusakabe, S., Mukai, T., Rigby, D.L., Chambers, G.K. (1989). Sequence, structure and evolution of the gene coding for sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase in Drosophila melanogaster.  Nucleic Acids Res. 17(21): 8553--8567.

FBrf0050726

Research paper

We present the complete nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence for the gene encoding Drosophila sn-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. A transcription unit of 5kb was identified which is composed of eight protein encoding exons. Three classes of transcripts were shown to differ only in the 3'-end and to code for three protein isoforms each with a different C-terminal amino acid sequence. Each transcript is shown to arise through the differential expression of three isotype-specific exons at the 3'-end of the gene by a developmentally regulated process of 3'-end formation and alternate splicing pathways of the pre-mRNA. In contrast, the 5'-end of the gene is simple in structure and each mRNA is transcribed from the same promoter sequence. A comparison of the organization of the Drosophila and murine genes and the primary amino acid sequence between a total of four species indicates that the GPDH gene-enzyme system is highly conserved and is evolving slowly.

PMC335027 (PMC) (EuropePMC)