Identification of a new gene family expressed during the onset of sexual reproduction in the centric diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii.

ABSTRACT: An intriguing feature of the diatom life cycle is that sexual reproduction and the generation of genetic diversity are coupled to the control of cell size. A PCR-based cDNA subtraction technique was used to identify genes that are expressed as small cells of the centric diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii initiate gametogenesis. Ten genes that are up-regulated during the early stages of sexual reproduction have been identified thus far. Three of the sexually induced genes, Sig1, Sig2, and Sig3, were sequenced to completion and are members of a novel gene family. The three polypeptides encoded by these genes possess different molecular masses and charges but display many features in common: they share five highly conserved domains; they each contain three or more cysteine-rich epithelial growt

SUBMITTER: Armbrust EV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC91465 | biostudies-literature | 1999 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature