Genomic structure of the sandworm, Perinereis vancaurica tetradentata, troponin C

Troponin C (TnC) superfamily genes essentially possess five introns, the positions of all but the fourth being highly conserved. The fourth intron is frequently absent from protostomian invertebrate genes, such as calmodulin or TnC. We previously proposed that the common ancestor of TnC superfamily genes never possessed an intron corresponding to today's fourth introns, and that members of the superfamily independently gained a fourth intron in the evolutionary pathway of each lineage. In the present study, we isolated the TnC cDNA from the sandworm, Perinereis vancaurica tetradentata and determined its genomic structure. Sandworm TnC appears to exist as a single copy gene consisting of six exons and five introns. The positions of the first, second, third and fifth introns are identical to other TnCs, but that of the fourth intron is unique. This is in good agreement with the above-mentioned scheme, i.e. the gain of the fourth intron of sandworm TnC might have occurred within the annelid lineage after annelida/mollusca divergence.