tRNA(Tyr) genes of Drosophila melanogaster: expression of single-copy genes studied by S1 mapping

Six Drosophila melanogaster tRNA(Tyr) genes have been isolated and sequenced. They contained introns of different sequences and two size classes: 20 or 21 base pairs (bp) (five genes) and 113 bp (one gene). However, the sequences coding for the mature tRNA(Tyr) were identical in all six genes. The 113-bp intron-containing gene was a single-copy gene. Hence, its primary transcript could be traced by S1 mapping. The gene was turned on during embryogenesis and continually expressed to various degrees during the following developmental stages. Thus, S1 mapping is a feasible method to follow the transcriptional activity of individual genes with identical mature products, provided that their primary transcripts are unique. The six genes were organized in two clusters of three and two genes, respectively (each containing a 20- or a 21-bp intron; cytological localization, 85A), and a single-copy gene (113-bp intron; cytological localization, 28C). We show that four of the six tRNA(Tyr) genes characterized were localized in putative 5' control regions of developmentally controlled genes transcribed by polymerase II.