Identification and characterization of the SMT3 cDNA and gene from nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Laboratory of Molecular Genetics, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA.

SMT3 gene from nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, was identified and sequenced. The nematode SMT3 gene codes for a homolog to the yeast SMT3, suppressor of MIF2 mutation in a centromere protein gene. Further, nematode SMT3 cDNA was amplified by polymerase chain reaction from a cDNA library and its nucleotide sequence determined. A comparison of the SMT3 genomic and cDNA sequences established that the protein-encoding sequence is interrupted by two introns of 56 and 50 bp at codon Nos. 22-23 and 56, respectively. The sequence of 91 amino acids deduced from the nematode SMT3 nucleotide sequence exhibited 42 and 47% identity to the yeast and human SMT3 protein sequences, respectively. The evolutionary relationships of SMT3 proteins from human, nematode, Arabidopsis, rice, and yeast were analyzed.

PMID: 9175795 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]