von Kalm, L., Weaver, J., DeMarco, J., MacIntyre, R.J., Sullivan, D.T. (1989). Structural characterization of the -glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase-encoding gene of Drosophila melanogaster. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 86(21): 5020--5024.
FlyBase ID
FBrf0050845
Publication Type
Research paper
Abstract
In Drosophila, multiple isoforms of alpha-glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (sn-glycerol-3-phosphate: NAD+ 2-oxidoreductase, EC 1.1.1.8) are produced in a tissue- and stage-specific manner. To understand the underlying molecular basis of these isoforms, we have sequenced a 5.8-kilobase region of the Drosophila genome that contains the entire Gpdh locus. Primer-extension and RNase protection assays show that the gene consists of eight exons and has a single transcription-start point. RNase protection mapping and comparison of the genomic sequence from three different cDNA clones reveal that three protein isoforms of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase are produced by alternative processing of 3' exons. Two of the isoforms differ from the third by the addition of either three or ten amino acids to their C-terminal ends. Transcripts corresponding to two of the isoforms are expressed during both larval and adult stages, while the third isoform is produced only in adults.