In this report, we describe the isolation of a 4020‐bp genomic PstI fragment of Desulfovibrio gigas harboring the aldehyde oxido‐reductase gene. The aldehyde oxido‐reductase gene spans 2718 bp of genomic DNA and codes for a protein with 906 residues. The protein sequence shows an average 52% (± 1.5%) similarity to xanthine dehydrogenase from different organisms. The codon usage of the aldehyde oxidoreductase is almost identical to a calculated codon usage of the Desulfovibrio bacteria.

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The presence of ubiquitin in ciliates was first demonstrated in Tetrahymena pyriformis. One clone--pTU2--presents two incomplete open reading frames and the putative polyubiquitin genes have been shown to be highly similar to those of other organisms. To further analyze the organization of this multigene family, several fragments of macronuclear DNA were cloned. We report here the isolation and characterization of one genomic clone (pTU20) that encodes a polyubiquitin gene (TU20) with five tandem repeats and presenting only one extra triplet CAA (Gln) upstream from the TGA. The promoter region of TU20 also presents a consensus heat shock element. The specific detection of RNA species with a synthetic oligonucleotide probe reveals that it corresponds to the 1.8 kb mRNA species whose expression is increased by temperature stress.

The genome of Tetrahymena pyriformis has been shown to contain a ubiquitin multigene family consisting of several polyubiquitin genes and at least one ubiquitin fusion gene. We report here the isolation and characterization of one genomic clone (pTU11), that encodes a ubiquitin extension protein. A comparison of the predicted amino acid sequence of the ubiquitin extension protein gene of T. pyriformis with those from other organisms indicated a high degree of homology. However, the Tetrahymena ubiquitin extension protein contains 53 and not 52 amino acids. This feature is different from all ubiquitin 52-amino-acid extension protein genes thus far sequenced. Furthermore, we found an array of four cysteine residues similar to those found in nucleic acid binding proteins. Also, the C-terminal sequence possesses a conserved motif which may represent a nuclear translocation signal. The ubiquitin 53-amino-acid extension protein gene encodes the smallest class of ubiquitin mRNAs in T. pyriformis.

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