Repeated DNA in Pneumocystis carinii.

A 16-kb DNA fragment designated Rp3-1 and cloned from the genome of rat-derived Pneumocystis carinii was found to contain sequences that were repeated approximately 70 times per genome. The repeated sequences in Rp3-1 spanned at least 10.4 kb. Sequences in Rp3-1 were present on each of the 16 P. carinii chromosomes resolved by field inversion gel electrophoresis. Most of the P. carinii genomic sequences homologous to those in the Rp3-1 clone appeared to be as long as those in the Rp3-1 clone but were highly polymorphic with respect to restriction enzyme cleavage sites. The Rp3-1 DNA fragment appears to be a member of a family of large, degenerate, dispersed repeats.