Comparison of the body wall myosin heavy chain sequences from Onchocerca volvulus and Brugia malayi

The complete coding sequence of Onchocerca volvulus myosin heavy chain has been determined from a series of overlapping cDNAs. The protein sequences from the 2 filarids, one responsible for subcutaneous filariasis, the other for lymphatic filariasis, show 92% identity, and are 1957 amino acids long. Each protein sequence is also equally related, with 75% identity, to MHC-B, the protein encoded by the unc-54 gene of the free-living nematode C.elegans. Such analysis is useful in phylogenetic studies among nematodes, as well as in structure-function relationships among myosin isolates.