Phylogenetic and genomewide analyses suggest a functional relationship between kayak, the Drosophila fos homolog, and fig, a predicted protein phosphatase 2c nested within a kayak intron.

ABSTRACT: A gene located within the intron of a larger gene is an uncommon arrangement in any species. Few of these nested gene arrangements have been explored from an evolutionary perspective. Here we report a phylogenetic analysis of kayak (kay) and fos intron gene (fig), a divergently transcribed gene located in a kay intron, utilizing 12 Drosophila species. The evolutionary relationship between these genes is of interest because kay is the homolog of the proto-oncogene c-fos whose function is modulated by serine/threonine phosphorylation and fig is a predicted PP2C phosphatase specific for serine/threonine residues. We found that, despite an extraordinary level of diversification in the intron-exon structure of kay (11 inversions and six independent exon losses), the nested arrangement of kay an

SUBMITTER: Hudson SG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2147949 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature