A NOVEL TRANSCRIBED REPEAT ELEMENT FROM ENTAMOEBA-HISTOLYTICA

We have identified an unusual 0.55-kb DNA repeat element specific to E ntamoeba histolytica (Eh) which we call interspersed element (IE). The IE is a common feature in independently isolated genomic and cDNA fra gments. Hybridization of labeled IE sequences to trophozoite DNA, RNA and first-strand cDNA prepared from poly(A)-enriched mRNA indicate tha t the IE are reiterated about 500 times per Eh trophozoite and that on e or more can be found as RNA transcripts. These features and the degr ee of conservation of IE suggest a possible role for these sequences.