An oligogene family encodes actins in the housefly, Musca domestica

Southern hybridization analyses of genomic DNA and dot-blot reconstruction experiments indicated that 5-6 members comprise the actin gene family in the housefly, Musca domestica. Hybridization data failed to reveal conservation between housefly and fruitfly sequences flanking actin genes at their 3' ends, in marked contrast to the high degree of conservation observed in these regions of orthologous actin genes in vertebrates. Hybridization analysis of genomic DNA isolated from individual houseflies revealed polymorphism within actin-associated sequences. A representative genomic library was constructed in lambda EMBL3 and screened using a heterologous actin coding sequence probe. Of nearly 20 recombinants isolated, 6 represented overlapping clones and the remainder proved to be inviable.