Short Communication: Relationship of Transcription of Drosophila melanogaster Gene CG11327 and the Gene for a Thrombospondin Homologue (DTSP)

Because of the close proximity of D. melanogaster gene CG11327 and the gene for a thrombospondin homologue (DTSP), the relationship between transcription of the two genes has been investigated. As part of this study, the cDNA sequence of gene CG11327 was determined, and structural features of the encoded protein were characterized. The CG11327 open reading frame specifies a polypeptide of 475 amino acid residues, molecular weight 53,666. The highly acidic protein has an aspartic acid+glutamic acid content of 23.2%. Weak similarities to other proteins suggest that it may function as a transcription factor or structural protein of the cell cycle. The existence of overlapping transcripts was found to be a significant feature of transcription of gene CG11327 and the DTSP gene. The 3′ end of the DTSP gene overlaps the 5′ end of gene CG11327 by at least 177 bp, and the region of overlap includes exon 13 and the 3′ UTR of the DTSP gene.