Fa. Shotkoski et al., Sequence of a mosquito ribonucleotide reductase cDNA and evidence for geneamplification in hydroxyurea-resistant cells, INSEC MOL B, 8(4), 1999, pp. 565-570
Ribonucleotide reductase is essential for production of the deoxyribonucleo
tide substrates required for DNA synthesis in all eukaryotic cells. The ful
l-length cDNA encoding a mosquito ribonucleotide reductase R2 subunit was o
btained from Aedes albopictus cells using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
-based approach. The cDNA contained 1197 nucleotides, and encoded a 398 ami
no acid R2 protein. Overall, mosquito R2 shared approximately 70% amino aci
d sequence identity with R2 proteins from vertebrates, but conservation at
the N-terminus of the protein was relatively low. The sequence of R2 cDNA w
as identical in hydroxyurea-resistant mosquito cells and in wild-type cells
, while the R2 gene copy number was increased ten to twentyfold in resistan
t cells.