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Isolation and characterization of Doublesex homologues in the Bactrocera species: B. dorsalis (Hendel) and B. correcta (Bezzi) and their putative promoter regulatory regions

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Abstract

Doublesex (dsx) is a double-switch gene at the bottom of the somatic sex-determination hierarchy which regulates sexual dimorphism in many insects. Here, Drosophila melanogaster homologues of dsx were isolated in two Bactrocera species, the oriental fruit fly, B. dorsalis, and the guava fruit fly, B. correcta. Results of RT–PCR analysis suggests that both the B. dorsalis dsx (Bd1dsx) and B. correcta dsx (Bcdsx) genes are transcribed and sex-specifically spliced in accordance with the Drosophila sex-specific splicing mechanism. The cDNA sequences shared a high degree of similarity at the nucleotide level among the Bactrocera species. Structurally conserved domains for DNA-binding and oligomerization were observed in all transcripts suggesting that their proteins function as transcriptional factors for downstream sex-specific gene expression. A purine-rich element (PRE) and four repeat elements (dsxRE) for TRA/TRA-2 binding sites were also found in the 3′ untranslated regions (UTR) of both the female Bd1dsx and Bcdsx mRNAs. Notably, a putative core promoter was revealed in Bd1dsx, being probably the first dsx promoter discovered in the tephritid flies.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the research contract no. 12620/RO of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria, granted to S. Thanaphum. This study is also a part of a master’s degree for R. Permpoon under the supervision of S. Thanaphum at Mahidol University, Thailand. Thanks to the editorial reviewers for their assistance with this paper.

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  1. Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, RamaVI Road, Bangkok, 10400, Thailand

    Rattiya Permpoon, Nidchaya Aketarawong & Sujinda Thanaphum

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  1. Rattiya Permpoon
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  3. Sujinda Thanaphum
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Correspondence to Sujinda Thanaphum.

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Permpoon, R., Aketarawong, N. & Thanaphum, S. Isolation and characterization of Doublesex homologues in the Bactrocera species: B. dorsalis (Hendel) and B. correcta (Bezzi) and their putative promoter regulatory regions. Genetica 139, 113–127 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10709-010-9508-2

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