Fol. Biol. 2003, 49, 115-117
Xstir Polymorphism and Absence of Sex Linkage in Xenopus laevis ME2 Gene
A fragment of ME2 cDNA from exon 2 to exon 11 was sequenced and the sequence submitted to GenBank. Analysis of the intron, probably intron 13, revealed a polymorphism which is due to the presence of tandem repetitions of Xstir elements. Genetic analysis of the parents and the offspring showed a standard distribution of intron variants. This distribution was not dependent on sex. We conclude, contrary to previous reports, that the ME2 gene is not linked to sex. Consequently, the Xstir polymorphism can be used as a tool for genetic analysis.
Keywords
Xenopus laevis, malic enzyme 2, polymorphism, Xstir, intron.
Funding
This project was supported by grant No. 304/01/1125 from the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic.
References
Copyright
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.