A house fly gene homologous to the zinc finger proto-oncogene Gfi-1

Gfi-1 was first cloned from rats (and subsequently from mice, chickens, and humans) and was found to be a 55-kDa protein that bound to DNA in a sequen ce-specific manner to act as a transcriptional repressor and proto-oncogene . Using PCR, a Gfi-1 homologous cDNA (mdGfi-1) was cloned from the house fl y, Musca domestica. Comparison of the mdGfi-1-deduced amino acid sequence w ith those of vertebrates indicates only moderate overall homology (40.9-43. 0% identity). However, these proteins are highly conserved when the zinc fi nger domains are compared, with mdGfi-1 having 81.0-82.2% identity to the v ertebrate homologues, Within each of the six zinc finger domains there are three amino acids that are predicted to contact the DNA and these amino aci ds are 100% identical for all six domains for all species. Given that Gfi-1 is highly conserved from insects to vertebrates suggests this may be an im portant transcription factor in many tare. (C) 2001 Academic Press.