Structure of a split yeast gene: complete nucleotide sequence of the actin gene in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Abstract

The complete nucleotide sequence of the actin gene from Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been determined. The coding region is interrupted by a 304-base-pair intervening sequence that is located within the triplet coding for amino acid 4. DNA sequences of the intron-exon junctions are similar to those found in higher eukaryotes and can be aligned such that the intron starts with the dinucleotide 5'-G-T-3' and ends with 5'-A-G-3'. Regions fo homology within the sequences upstream from the initiation codon and those following the termination codon have been detected between the yeast iso-1-cytochrome c gene and the actin gene. As deduced from the nucleotide sequence, yeast actin has 374 amino acid residues. Its primary structure, especially the NH2-terminal third of the protein, is highly conserved during evolution.