Favia G, Bazzocchi C, Cancrini G, Genchi C, Bandi C
Istituto di Patologia Generale Veterinaria dell'Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
Parasitol Res. 2000 Jun;86(6):497-9. doi: 10.1007/s004360050700.
Comparing the 5S ribosomal RNA spacer of Dirofilaria repens and D. immitis, we found that in D. repens PCR generates two amplification products. In both products, the putative spliced leader 1 sequences (SL1) show some nucleotide substitutions compared to the canonical SL1 sequence of nematodes. SL I is a short sequence transferred to the 5' end of most messenger RNAs through a trans-splicing reaction. All the other filariae studied thus far amplify a single fragment showing a canonical SL1 sequence. D. repens appears thus peculiar.