C. Yang et F. Sehnal, RIBOSOMAL-PROTEIN L5 OF BOMBYX-MORI - CDNA SEQUENCE AND TISSUE DIFFERENCES IN THE L5 MESSENGER-RNA CONTENT, Insect molecular biology, 7(4), 1998, pp. 301-306
A gene encoding the ribosomal protein L5, which assembles with the 5S
rRNA into one of the components of the 60S ribosomal subunit, was iden
tified in insects for the first time. We report on the isolation of Bo
mbyx mori cDNA, whose putative translation product is 60-76% identical
with the L5 sequences known from other animals and about 50% identica
l with the L5 of rice and yeasts. Bombyx contains a single copy of the
L5 gene, which is constitutively expressed as a 1.1 kb mRNA in all ti
ssues. The ratio of L5 mRNA to total RNA appears to reflect the proteo
synthetic tissue capacity. A very high level of L5 mRNA is maintained
in functional silk glands, A rapid decline of the ratio of L5 mRNA to
the rRNA, which occurs in the silk glands after cocoon spinning, indic
ates differences in the stability of these two RNA classes.