Kidney-specific cadherin (Ksp-cadherin, cadherin 16) is a novel, kidney-specific member of the cadherin superfamily that is expressed exclusively in the basolateral membrane of renal tubular epithelial cells. To characterize the Ksp-cadherin gene promoter, a λ bacteriophage clone containing 3.7 kb of the proximal 5' flanking region of the mouse Ksp-cadherin gene was isolated. The transcription ...

Enterotoxigenic Bacteroides fragilis (ETBF) strains, which produce a 20-kDa zinc metalloprotease toxin (BFT), have been associated with diarrheal disease in animals and young children. Studying a collection of ETBF and nontoxigenic B. fragilis (NTBF) strains, we found that bft and a second metalloprotease gene (mpII) are contained in an approximately 6-kb pathogenicity island (termed B. fragili...

Ecological speciation is a common mechanism by which new species arise. Despite great efforts, the role of gene expression in ecological divergence and speciation is poorly understood. Here, we conducted a genome-wide gene expression investigation of two Oryza species that are evolutionarily young and distinct in ecology and morphology. Using digital gene expression technology and the paired-en...

Analysis of the human VK (ref. 2) gene locus led to the detection of a new sequence family (L sequences). Its copy number is in the range of 10(2). The L sequences, which are about 500 bp long, are found as part of the 3' flanking regions of a clustered set of human VKI genes but they occur also separate from the genes. Models are discussed in which L sequences are viewed as molecular footprint...

AIM To use the tyrosinase minigene as a visual marker to perform microinjection training and improve the techniques related with transgene to greatly elevate the efficiency of gene transfer. METHODS A mouse tyrosinase minigene, i.e., TyBS, in which the 2.25-kb authentic genomic 5' non-coding flanking sequence of mouse tyrosinase was fused to a mouse tyrosinase cDNA, was introduced into the fe...

Somatic hypermutation (SHM) requires not only the expression of activation-induced cytidine deaminase, but also transcription in the target regions. However, how transcription guides activation-induced cytidine deaminase in targeting SHM to the Ig genes is not fully understood. Here, we found that the "facilitates chromatin transcription" (FACT) complex promotes SHM by RNAi screening of transcr...

We have investigated patterns of evolution in the nonrecombining portion of the Y chromosome in mice by comparing levels of polymorphism within Mus domesticus with levels of divergence between M. domesticus and M. spretus. A 1,277-bp fragment of noncoding sequence flanking the sex determining locus (Sry) was PCR amplified, and 1,063 bases were sequenced and compared among 20 M. domesticus and 1...

Two endo-beta-1,4-glucanase (EGase; EC 3.2.1.4.) genes, highly expressed during ripening of the non-climacteric strawberries (Fragariaxananassa Duch. cv. Chandler), were isolated. Serial promoter deletions of both genes (i.e. FaEG1 and FaEG3) fused to GUS were transiently assayed in strawberry fruits by using a technique recently developed in this laboratory. Although differences were observed ...

Fusion genes containing 1600 or 2000 base pairs of the bovine thyroglobulin gene 5' flanking region and the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) coding sequence were constructed and used to generate transgenic mice. Altogether, 24 independent transgenic lines were obtained, and the expression of the transgene was assayed by measuring the CAT activity in different tissues. Depending on the tr...

Lactoferrin mRNA in the 21-day-old mouse uterus can be increased several hundredfold by estrogen. The physiological role of lactoferrin in mouse uterus is unclear; however, it can be a useful marker for the estrogen action in the uterus. The structural organization and the chromosome location of the lactoferrin gene are similar to members of the transferrin gene family. At the 5' flanking regio...