Insertion/deletion (indel) is one of the most common methods of protein sequence variation. Recent studies showed that indels could affect their flanking regions and they are important for protein function and evolution. Here, we describe the Indel Flanking Region Database (IndelFR, http://indel.bioinfo.sdu.edu.cn), which provides sequence and structure information about indels and their flanki...

In the present study, we demonstrate by transcript mapping that the injected Xenopus skeletal muscle alpha-actin gene is transcribed and spliced in Xenopus oocytes but not correctly initiated at the alpha-actin promoter. This leads to correctly spliced transcripts even if constructs without putative promoter sequences are injected. On the other hand, alpha-actin transcripts are translated in in...

Extracellular signal proteins induce the homeotic gene labial (lab) to high levels of localised expression in the endoderm of Drosophila embryos. We aimed to identify cis-regulatory elements within the lab gene that respond to this induction by analysing the activity of stably integrated reporter gene constructs. Dissection of lab 5' flanking sequences reveals two types of response elements. On...

Cloned ribosomal DNA (rDNA) from mouse, which contains the initiation site of 45S pre-rRNA transcription and 5' flanking sequences, has been used as the template in an in vitro transcription system. In the presence of extracts from rapidly growing Ehrlich ascites cells, RNA polymerase I initiates specifically in that region of purified rDNA where the 5' end of 45S rRNA has been mapped. This is ...

The elements comprising the mouse rpS16 promoter were characterized by transfection experiments with mutant genes in which various portions of the 5' flanking region and exon I were removed or substituted with extraneous DNA sequence. These experiments were carried out with otherwise intact rpS16 genes transfected into monkey kidney (COS) cells and also with chimeric rpS16-CAT gene constructs t...

We introduced a mouse tyrosinase minigene, mg-Tyrs-J, in which the authentic genomic 5' non-coding flanking sequence was fused to a mouse tyrosinase cDNA, into fertilized egges of albino mice. Of the 25 animals that developed from the injected eggs, four mice exhibited pigmented hair and eyes. Histological analysis of the transgenic mice revealed that the melanogenesis was restricted to hair bu...

To understand the mechanism underlying the regulation of the Ca-binding protein regucalcin gene expression, we characterized the 5*-flanking region of the rat regucalcin gene. The transcriptional start site of the rat regucalcin gene was determined by the cap site hunting method with rat liver cap site cDNA. The 5*-flanking region of the rat regucalcin gene ligated to a luciferase reporter gene...

lactoferrin is a glycoprotein with molecular weight 80 kda iron-binding bond, which is composed of 690 amino acids. in most mammalian body fluids such as sweat, semen, tears, and saliva and milk neutrophil granules there. bovine lactoferrin gene be associated with susceptibility/resistance to mastitis and even with some economically important production traits. this study was carried out to det...

Starch branching enzymes (SBE) which catalyse the formation of alpha-1,6-glucan linkages are of crucial importance for the quantity and quality of starch synthesized in plants. In maize (Zea mays L.), three SBE isoforms (SBEI, IIa and IIb) have been identified and shown to exhibit differential expression patterns. As a first step toward understanding the regulatory mechanisms controlling their ...

Chitobiase is a lysosomal glycosidase that acts during the ordered degradation of asparagine-linked glycoproteins to cleave the core chitobiose unit at its reducing end. Human chitobiase is expressed in significant amounts, while bovine chitobiase is produced at extremely low levels. To begin to understand this species-dependent expression, we determined the gene structure of human chitobiase. ...