Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (13)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by von der Schulenburg, J. H. G.
Right arrow Articles by Hurst, G. D. D.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by von der Schulenburg, J. H. G.
Right arrow Articles by Hurst, G. D. D.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Molecular Biology and Evolution 18:648-660 (2001)
© 2001 Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution

ARTICLE

Extreme Length and Length Variation in the First Ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacer of Ladybird Beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

J. Hinrich Graf von der Schulenburg,, John M. Hancock, Alistair Pagnamenta, John J. Sloggett, Michael E. N. Majerus and Gregory D. D. Hurst

*Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, England;
{dagger}Abteilung für Evolutionsbiologie, Institut für Spezielle Zoologie, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Münster, Germany;
{ddagger}Comparative Sequence Analysis Group, MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College School of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital, London, England; and
§Department of Biology, University College London, London, England

DNA sequences of the first ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS1) were isolated from 10 ladybird beetle species (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) representing four subfamilies (Coccinellinae, Chilocorinae, Scymninae, and Coccidulinae). The spacers ranged in length from 791 to 2,572 bp, thereby including one of the longest ITS1s and exhibiting one of the most extreme cases of ITS1 size variation in eukaryotes recorded to date. The causes of length variation were therefore analyzed. Almost no putatively homologous sequence similarities were identified for the taxa included. The only exception was for the subfamily Coccinellinae, which yielded sequence similarities in six regions of approximately 550 nucleotide positions, primarily at the 5' and 3' ends of ITS1. The majority of differences in ITS1 length between taxa could be attributed to the presence of repetitive elements with comparatively long repeat units. Repetition arose several times independently and was confined to the middle of the spacer which, in contrast to the 5' and 3' ends, had not been inferred in previous studies to be subject to functional constraints. These elements were characterized by high rates of evolutionary change, most likely as a result of high substitution rates in combination with inefficient homogenization across repeats. The repeated origin and subsequent divergence of "long" repetitive elements should thus be assumed to be an important factor in the evolution of coccinellid ITS1.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J MOLLUS STUDHome page
R. Freire, A. Arias, J. Mendez, and A. Insua
SEQUENCE VARIATION OF THE INTERNAL TRANSCRIBED SPACER (ITS) REGION OF RIBOSOMAL DNA IN CERASTODERMA SPECIES (BIVALVIA: CARDIIDAE)
J. Mollus. Stud., October 30, 2009; (2009) eyp047v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Eukaryot CellHome page
J.-C. Chang, M. M.-L. Hsu, R. C. Barton, and C. J. Jackson
High-Frequency Intragenomic Heterogeneity of the Ribosomal DNA Intergenic Spacer Region in Trichophyton violaceum
Eukaryot. Cell, April 1, 2008; 7(4): 721 - 726.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Syst BiolHome page
H. J. Dumont, J. R. Vanfleteren, J. F. De Jonckheere, and P. H. H. Weekers
Phylogenetic Relationships, Divergence Time Estimation, and Global Biogeographic Patterns of Calopterygoid Damselflies (Odonata, Zygoptera) Inferred from Ribosomal DNA Sequences
Syst Biol, June 1, 2005; 54(3): 347 - 362.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Mol Biol EvolHome page
M. Haber, M. Schungel, A. Putz, S. Muller, B. Hasert, and H. Schulenburg
Evolutionary History of Caenorhabditis elegans Inferred from Microsatellites: Evidence for Spatial and Temporal Genetic Differentiation and the Occurrence of Outbreeding
Mol. Biol. Evol., January 1, 2005; 22(1): 160 - 173.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Nucleic Acids ResHome page
M. Gottschling and J. Plotner
Secondary structure models of the nuclear internal transcribed spacer regions and 5.8S rRNA in Calciodinelloideae (Peridiniaceae) and other dinoflagellates
Nucleic Acids Res., January 13, 2004; 32(1): 307 - 315.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 MycologiaHome page
H. C. den Bakker, B. Gravendeel, and T. W. Kuyper
An ITS phylogeny of Leccinum and an analysis of the evolution of minisatellite-like sequences within ITS1
Mycologia, January 1, 2004; 96(1): 102 - 118.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 GeneticsHome page
J. H. G. v. d. Schulenburg, G. D. D. Hurst, D. Tetzlaff, G. E. Booth, I. A. Zakharov, and M. E. N. Majerus
History of Infection With Different Male-Killing Bacteria in the Two-Spot Ladybird Beetle Adalia bipunctata Revealed Through Mitochondrial DNA Sequence Analysis
Genetics, March 1, 2002; 160(3): 1075 - 1086.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.