The evolutionary history of a region of DNA encompassing the Adh locus is studied by comparing patterns of variation in Drosophila melanogaster and its sibling species, D. simulans. An unexpectedly high level of silent polymorphism in the Adh coding region relative to the 5' and 3' flanking regions in D. melanogaster is revealed by a populational survey of restriction polymorphism using a four-...

Transcriptional fusions composed of a 19 kilodalton zein cDNA, the 5' flanking region from a beta-phaseolin gene, and 3' flanking regions from either the phaseolin or a 15-kilodalton zein gene were introduced into Petunia by Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The expression of both zein mRNA and protein in these transgenic plants was seed-specific and developmentally regulated. Both monocot...

Not all members of the human histone gene family are functional. We have isolated a human H2B pseudogene that contains alterations in the protein-coding sequences as well as in the 3' and 5' flanking sequences that preclude expression of a functional H2B histone protein. There are three modifications in the amino acid-coding region: a single-base deletion producing a frame shift, a single-base ...

The human cathepsin G (CG) gene is expressed only in promyelocytes and encodes a neutral serine protease that is packaged in the azurophil (primary) granules of myeloid cells. To define the cis-acting DNA elements that are responsible for promyelocyte-specific "targeting," we injected a 6-kb transgene containing the entire human CG gene, including coding sequences contained in a 2.7-kb region, ...

Previous studies in our laboratory have shown that the Dolichos biflorus plant contains two similar lectins, a seed lectin and a stem and leaf lectin called DB58, that are present at different stages in the plant's life cycle. We have now established that each of these lectins is encoded by a separate gene by isolating these lectin genes from a library of D. biflorus nuclear DNA. Restriction ma...

We have isolated the majority (seven) of the tRNA(Trp) genes of Arabidopsis and have studied the 5' and 3' flanking sequence requirements for their efficient expression in vivo by using an assay requiring translational suppression of the luciferase reporter gene. The expressed tRNA(Trp) genes contain no highly conserved 5' flanking sequences; however, these sequences are distinctly AT rich, con...