Larminie C G, Johnstone I L
Wellcome Unit of Molecular Parasitology, Anderson College, University of Glasgow, UK.
DNA Cell Biol. 1996 Jan;15(1):75-82. doi: 10.1089/dna.1996.15.75.
Cathepsin B cysteine protease enzymes have been shown to be involved in a variety of different biological processes in eukaryotes. We have isolated and characterized four distinct cathepsin B-like genes from the genetically tractable nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans. This is the first reported finding of a cathepsin B-like multigene family within a nonparasitic metazoan. The four genes possess distinct genomic architectures, with variations in the position, number, and size of introns. The predicted amino acid sequences of the four genes are highly diverged. Phylogenetic analysis indicates the divergence of this multigene family within C. elegans is as great as the interspecies divergence between the vertebrates and nematode cathepsin B-like genes. In addition, each of the four genes described here shows a distinct temporal pattern of expression during C. elegans development.
组织蛋白酶B半胱氨酸蛋白酶已被证明参与真核生物中各种不同的生物过程。我们从遗传易处理的线虫秀丽隐杆线虫中分离并鉴定了四个不同的组织蛋白酶B样基因。这是首次报道在非寄生后生动物中发现组织蛋白酶B样多基因家族。这四个基因具有不同的基因组结构，内含子的位置、数量和大小存在差异。这四个基因的预测氨基酸序列高度分化。系统发育分析表明，秀丽隐杆线虫内这个多基因家族的分化程度与脊椎动物和线虫组织蛋白酶B样基因之间的种间分化程度一样大。此外，这里描述的四个基因中的每一个在秀丽隐杆线虫发育过程中都表现出独特的表达时间模式。
