The alpha-amylase gene in Drosophila melanogaster: nucleotide sequence, gene structure and expression motifs

We present the complete nucleotide sequence of a Drosophila alpha-amylase gene and its flanking regions, as determined by cDNA and genomic sequence analysis. This gene, unlike its mammalian counterparts, contains no introns. Nevertheless the insect and mammalian genes share extensive nucleotide similarity and the insect protein contains the four amino acid sequence blocks common to all alpha-amylases. In Drosophila melanogaster, there are two closely-linked copies of the alpha-amylase gene and they are divergently transcribed. In the 5'-regions of the two gene-copies we find high sequence divergence, yet the typical eukaryotic gene expression motifs have been maintained. The 5'-terminus of the alpha-amylase mRNA, as determined by primer extension analysis, maps to a characteristic Drosophila sequence motif. Additional conserved elements upstream of both genes may also be involved in amylase gene expression which is known to be under complex controls that include glucose repression.