Sequence analysis of the complete cDNA and encoded polypeptide for the Glued gene of Drosophila melanogaster

The complete cDNA sequence for the Glued gene of wild-type Drosophila melanogaster contains an open reading frame encoding 1319 amino acids, which constitute the Glued polypeptide. The secondary predicted from the deduced sequence of the Glued polypeptide has extensive alpha-helical internal domains, which contain heptad-repeat sequences characteristic of an elongated coiled-coil conformation. There are striking sequence and conformation similarities between the Glued alpha-helical domains and those found in certain filamentous proteins from various organisms, particularly in muscle fibers and intermediate filaments. The possible role of the Glued polypeptide as an architectural filamentous component of Drosophila cells and tissues is discussed. Two of the five Glued exons are located in the 5' untranslated region of the cDNA. One of the introns interrupting the Glued open reading frame encodes at least two polyadenylylated transcripts, suggesting that other genes might map within the span of the Glued gene.