Molecular analysis of the alpha and beta dynein genes of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

Abstract

AbstractWe previously cloned portions of the alpha and beta dynein heavy chain genes of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii by screening a genomic expression library with monoclonal antibodies (Williams et al.: Journal of Cell Biology 103:1–11, 1986). Here we provide further evidence of the identity of these clones and describe the selection of adjacent regions from a large insert genomic library. Southern blots indicate that only a single copy of each gene is present in the Chlamydomonas genome, while Northern blots show that both heavy chains are encoded by 13.5 kilobase mRNAs and that the corresponding transcription units each span approximately 20 kilobase‐pairs of genomic DNA. No similarities were detected between restriction maps of the alpha and beta dynein genes, but extensive regions of sequence similarity were identified by the cross‐hybridization of cloned gene fragments.