Shuichi Takahashi

Isolation and characterization of an elongation factor-1α gene in Porphyra yezoensis (Rhodophyta)

A gene of Porphyra yezoensis, coding for the translation elongation factor 1α (EF-1α), was isolated from a P. yezoensis genomic library. The coding of 1347 nucleotides encodes a polypeptide of 449 amino acids which exhibits sequence similarity as the known EF-1α. An intron is located in the 5′ untranslated region. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence showed higher similarity to the Porphyra purpurea EF-1αtef-c (97%) than to the P. purpurea EF-1αtef-s (61%). The mRNA was detected both in the leafy gametophyte and filamentous sporophyte by RT-PCR. The nucleotide sequence data reported in this paper will appear in the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under accession number AB098024.