CHARACTERIZATION OF THE RDNA UNIT AND SEQUENCE-ANALYSIS OF THE SMALL SUBUNIT RIBOSOMAL-RNA AND 5.8S RIBOSOMAL-RNA GENES FROM TRITRICHOMONAS-FETUS

The ribosomal RNA gene unit of the protozoan parasite Tritrichomonas foetus has been cloned and analyzed. Southern blot analysis of the genomic DNA showed that the ribosomal RNA gene unit is organized as a tandem head to tail repeat with a unit length of 6 kb. By Northern analysis a primary transcript of 5.8 kb was detected. Copy number analysis showed the presence of 12 copies of the ribosomal RNA gene unit. The lengths of the small subunit ribosomal RNA and 5.8S ribosomal RNA are 1571 bp and 159 bp, respectively, as determined by sequence analysis. The T. foetus small subunit ribosomal RNA sequence is one of the shortest eukaryotic small subunit rRNA sequences, similar in length to those from 2 other amitochondrial protists. Although shorter than the majority of the eukaryotic small subunit ribosomal RNAs, this sequence maintains the primary and secondary structure common to all eukaryotic small subunit ribosomal RNA structures, while truncating sequences found within the eukaryotic variable regions. The length of the large subunit ribosomal RNA was measured at 2.5 kb.