Js. Liu et Cl. Schardl, A CONSERVED SEQUENCE IN INTERNAL TRANSCRIBED SPACER-1 OF PLANT NUCLEAR RIBOSOMAL-RNA GENES, Plant molecular biology, 26(2), 1994, pp. 775-778
A highly conserved sequence was found in rRNA gene internal transcribe
d spacer 1 (ITS1) among flowering plant species. The sequence, GGCRY-(
4 to 7 n)-GYGYCAAGGAA (where Y = C or T; R = G or A) is located in the
central region of ITS1, and is present in published sequences from a
wide range of flowering plants. The rest of ITS 1 is highly variable i
n sequence. Therefore, the conserved motif within ITS 1 may have a key
function in the processing of rRNA gene transcripts. Furthermore, ide
ntification of such a conserved motif will help facilitate alignment o
f sequences for phylogenetic analysis.