BmCF1, a Bombyx mori RXR-type receptor related to the Drosophila ultraspiracle

Abstract

A PCR approach has been used to obtain an ovarian cDNA clone from the silkmoth Bombyx mori, encoding a 50 kDa protein (BmCF1) that belongs to the RXR subfamily of nuclear hormone receptors and is most similar to the CF1/USP protein (DmCF1) encoded by the ultraspiracle gene of Drosophila. The similarity is high in the DNA-binding and moderately so in the ligand-binding domains, although not in the N-terminal, putatively activator A/B domain. Protein sequence comparisons with the available RXR sequences indicate that although insect USP-like sequences are more related to each other than to vertebrate RXRs, their inter se similarities are lower than in the case of the vertebrate RXRs. Two distinct BmCF1-homologous transcripts are observed consistently, and are indicative either of alternative splicing or of the existence of a second RXR gene in the moth. The transcripts are widely distributed, suggesting functions at multiple developmental stages, as in the case of Drosophila ultraspiracle.