IDENTIFICATION AND DEVELOPMENTAL EXPRESSION OF THE MITOCHONDRIAL PHOSPHATE-TRANSPORT PROTEIN GENE FROM THE SPRUCE BUDWORM, CHORISTONEURA-FUMIFERANA

Phosphate transport protein (PTP) is a mitochondrial inner membrane pr otein responsible for the translocation of inorganic phosphate into th e mitochondrial matrix. A full length cDNA clone encoding the PTP was isolated from the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana. The deduce d amino acid sequence of the longest ORF of CfPTP cDNA showed high sim ilarity with the amino acid sequences of PTPs cloned from several spec ies. Phylogenetic tree analysis indicated that CfPTP occupied an inter mediate position between vertebrates on the one side and yeast and nem atodes on the other side. Studies on the developmental expression of C fPTP mRNA showed that higher levels of mRNA were present during the fe eding and growing stages than during molting periods. (C) 1998 Elsevie r Science Ltd. All rights reserved.