Characterization of the Schistosoma mansoni gene encoding the glycolytic enzyme, triosephosphate isomerase

The complete gene encoding Schistosoma mansoni triosephosphate isomerase (TPI) was isolated from a lambda phage genomic library on 2 overlapping clones. These genomic clones have been characterized by restriction mapping and DNA sequencing of the 5' flanking region, the exons, the intron boundaries and the polyadenylation addition site. S. mansoni TPI is encoded by 6 exons spanning a region of about 12 kb. The 5 introns are located at positions precisely analogous to those of mammalian TPI genes but one of the 6 mammalian TPI introns is missing in S. mansoni. We find no evidence of spliced leader involvement in TPI gene expression. The gene is preceded by at least 4 tandem copies of a 2.5-kb repetitive sequence. While the 12-kb size for the S. mansoni TPI gene is much larger than the 3-4 kb typical of mammalian TPI genes, the 42-bp first intron is unusually short. The transcription initiation site for the S. mansoni TPI gene is heterogeneous. Genomic Southern blot analysis suggests that TPI is expressed from a single copy gene.