A XENOPUS CYSTEINE STRING PROTEIN WITH A CYSTEINE RESIDUE IN THE J-DOMAIN

A cDNA clone encoding a Xenopus cysteine string protein (Xcsp) was iso lated and sequenced. The deduced primary sequence of Xcsp is very simi lar to other vertebrate csps with the exception of a cysteine residue that lies outside of the cysteine-string domain. This cysteine residue replaces a serine that is highly conserved among vertebrate csps, and thus may be of functional importance. Xcsp mRNA appears as a 4.6 kb s pecies on Northern analysis, and immunoblot of Xenopus brain membranes reveals a single, 35 kDa Xcsp that can be deacylated, like other csps . (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V.