Analysis by PCR of the number of homologous genomic sequences to α-tubulin in maize

Abstract

The protein sequences of α-tubulins are among the best conserved in eukaryotes. This degree of conservation also remains high at the nucleotide level. The genes encoding these proteins are organized into families of up to 30 members in animal systems. In the few plant species studied, the α-tubulin gene family shows a lower complexity. In the reported genomic sequences, for a given species the site of insertion for an intron in the α-tubulin genes occurs at specific points in the gene and this is also true for maize. In this paper, advantage has been taken of the fact that the first intron of maize α-tubulin is variable in length between the different genes reported and it si flanked by coding sequences conserved at both protein and nucleotide levels. These facts offer the possibility of estimating the number of genes coding for this protein in maize. The results and the limitations of the approach are described.