Leishmania major: characterisation and expression of a cytoplasmic stress-related protein.

The DNA sequence of a single-copy gene from Leishmania major has been determined and shown to share sequence identity with eukaryotic heat shock protein-70-related genes. Conserved features of the deduced open reading frame include amino acids implicated in ATP binding and a putative calmodulin-binding domain. Antibodies generated to the recombinant fusion protein recognise a 70-kDa molecule of pI 6.0. This molecule is constitutively expressed and localises to the cytoplasm in all stages of the parasite life cycle.