Characterization of the Gene BmEm4, a Homologue of Drosophila E(spl)m4, from the Silkworm, Bombyx mori
Figure 2
Sequence alignment illustrating the conserved motifs of the BmEm4 gene. (a) Sequence comparisons of Bombyx mori E(spl)m4 (accession number FJ436408), Drosophila melanogaster E(spl)m4 (accession number X16551), and E(spl) (accession number AJ011140). Amino acid residues that are identical between the BmEm4, E(spl)m4, and E(spl) proteins are shown by dark boxes and similar amino acids are lightly shaded. A star under the sequences indicates identical amino acids; two points indicate a high degree of conservation; one point indicates a low degree of conservation. The basic amphipathic -helical regions of each protein as predicted by protean software are bracketed (amino acids 26–44 for BmEm4). The other two sequences that are conserved in the Brd family (VPVHFARTXXGTFFWT and DRW(A/V)QA) are found at the C-termini of the proteins (in shadow). (b) The locations of the conserved motifs including the GY, K, and Brd boxes (indicated by G, K, and B) in the UTR of BmEm4 are shown. (c) Alignment of the Brd-box (AGCTTTA), GY-box (GTCTTCC), and K-box (TGTGAT) motifs found in the UTRs of BmEm4, E(spl) m4, Beared genes (defined in Leviten et al. [19]), and Barbu (defined in Zaffran and Frasch [39]). Each sequence motif in a given gene is numbered in the order of its position to in the UTR. The core of each box is shown in bold letters.
