Trans-splicing of the mod(mdg4) complex locus is conserved between the distantly related species Drosophila melanogaster and D. virilis.

ABSTRACT: The modifier of mdg4, mod(mdg4), locus in Drosophila melanogaster represents a new type of complex gene in which functional diversity is resolved by mRNA trans-splicing. A protein family of >30 transcriptional regulators, which are supposed to be involved in higher-order chromatin structure, is encoded by both DNA strands of this locus. Mutations in mod(mdg4) have been identified independently in a number of genetic screens involving position-effect variegation, modulation of chromatin insulators, apoptosis, pathfinding of nerve cells, and chromosome pairing, indicating pleiotropic effects. The unusual gene structure and mRNA trans-splicing are evolutionary conserved in the distantly related species Drosophila virilis. Chimeric mod(mdg4) transcripts encoded from nonhomologous chromosomes c

SUBMITTER: Gabler M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1449142 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature