A variant tandemly repeated nucleotide sequence in Balbiani ring 2 of Chironomus tentans

pCtBR2-2 is a genomic clone from Chironomus tentans that hybridized in situ to Balbiani ring 2 (BR2) on salivary gland polytene chromosome IV. DNA sequencing indicated that the insert contained nearly four copies of a 180 bp tandemly repeated nucleotide sequence that was distinctly different from a previously reported BR2 repeat. Sequence titration experiments detected about 70 copies of the 180 bp repeat per haploid genome, which would correspond to approximately 34% of a 37 kb BR2 gene. Each 180 bp repeat included a conserved 90 bp segment whose sequence was internally nonrepeating (INR), and a variable 90 bp repeated (R) segment comprised of three 30 bp repeats that may have evolved from a 9 bp consensus sequence. Results presented here raise the distinct possibility that other BR genes may contain significantly different repeated sequences that have not been identified.