Nucleic acid homologies among species of Saccharomyces.

Evolutionary divergence among species of the yeast genus Saccharomyces was estimated from measurements of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)/DNA and ribosomal ribonucleic acid (RNA)/DNA homology. Much diversity was found in the DNA base sequences with several species showing little or no homology to the three reference species, S. cerevisiae, S. lactis, and S. fragilis. These three reference species also showed little or no homology to each other. On the other hand the diversity among ribosomal RNA base sequences was small since most species showed a high degree of homology to the reference species. The arrangement of species based on ribosomal RNA homologies agrees in most cases with current taxonomic groupings. A yeast hybrid (S. fragilis x S. lactis) was shown to contain two nonhomologous genomes. A minimum genome size of 9.2 x 10(9) daltons for S. cerevisiae was calculated from the rate of DNA renaturation.

Comparison of the p26 gene region of two baculoviruses.

A 1.1-kb region of DNA containing the p26 gene of the multicapsid nuclear polyhedrosis virus of Orgyia pseudotsugata (OpMNPV) was sequenced, transcriptionally mapped, and compared to the same region in the MNPV of Autographa californica (AcMNPV). The mRNA start site of the p26 gene occurs about 22 nucleotides downstream from an A/T-rich putative promoter sequence that is highly conserved between AcMNPV and OpMNPV. The p26 mRNA is transcribed through the p26 gene and coterminates with the p10 gene resulting in a mRNA containing copies of both genes. The reading frames of the OpMNPV and AcMNPV p26 genes showed 47% amino acid sequence homology which is clustered in six regions with over 65% amino acid homology. There was a distinct bias toward incorporation of G/C-rich codons in the OpMNPV p26 gene. No DNA homology was observed between the region upstream of the p26 gene in AcMNPV and OpMNPV. In AcMNPV, this region contains the homologous repeated (hr) sequence hr5. Hybridization of a plasmid containing an AcMNPV-repeated sequence (hr5) to Southern blots of the OpMNPV genome indicated that this repeated sequence is lacking in OpMNPV.

Androgen receptor gene expression in the rat central nervous system: Evidence for two mRNA transcripts.

Androgen receptor (AR) gene expression in the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral tissues of male rats was examined using cDNA probes to measure AR mRNA by RNA (Northern) blot analysis and by in situ hybridization. Using a probe from the 5' untranslated region of the rat cDNA (AR-1), a single mRNA species of approximately 11 kb was seen in Northern blots of poly(A)(+) RNA from reproductive tissues, kidney, liver, and muscle. Using a probe from the 5' end of the coding region (AR-2), in addition to the 11-kb band, a novel transcript was seen in whole brain at about 9.3 kb. In poly(A)(+) RNA from dissected brain regions, the 9.3-kb transcript was predominant in the cortex, cerebellum, and brain stem, while in the hippocampus, both transcripts were expressed to a similar degree. AR mRNA levels increased two- to threefold in the prostate on Days 1 and 3 following castration but no significant change was seen in either CNS transcript in whole brain or cortex. Specific in situ hybridization of an (35)S-labeled AR-2 riboprobe was observed in brain regions known to bind radiolabeled androgens. We conclude that two AR RNA species exist in the adult male rat which differ in their 5' untranslated region and that the relative proportion of the two species varies between brain regions. In contrast to observations in the prostate, AR gene expression in the cerebral cortex is not regulated in the short term by androgen withdrawal.

Molecular analysis of 46,XY females and regional assignment of a new Y-chromosome-specific probe.

The relationship between Y-chromosome abnormalities and gonadal differentiation was investigated in six phenotypic females with a 46,XY karyotype and one patient with ambiguous genitalia secondary to apparently nonmosaic 46,XY mixed gonadal dysgenesis. No alterations were found in the Y chromosomes of six of these individuals by the use of either cytogenetic or molecular techniques. Cytogenetic analysis with high-resolution G-banding and Q-banding revealed a small deletion in the short arm of the Y chromosome in one female patient with some features of Turner syndrome. Southern hybridization with Y-specific probes showed a loss of DNA within deletion intervals 1, 2, and 3 of the Y chromosome. A new Y-chromosome-specific DNA probe that hybridizes to deletion interval 3 is described.

Deletion mapping of H-Y antigen to the long arm of the human Y chromosome.

A gene encoding or controlling the expression of the H-Y transplantation antigen was previously mapped to the human Y chromosome. We now report the sublocalization of this gene on the long arm of the human Y chromosome. Eight patients with Y-chromosomal abnormalities were examined with a series of existing and new DNA markers for the Y chromosome. The resulting deletion map was correlated with H-Y antigen expression. We conclude that the H-Y antigen gene maps to a portion of deletion interval 6 that is identified by specific DNA markers.