Controlled Chaos of Polymorphic Mucins in a Metazoan Parasite (Schistosoma mansoni) Interacting with Its Invertebrate Host (Biomphalaria glabrata)
Figure 3
Schematic representation of a complete SmPoMuc gene.
The complete SmPoMuc genes are composed of 15 exons. Exon 2 is included in a genomic repeat that can be repeated several times (a maximum of 20 repeats in SmPoMuc 2 genes). These genomic repeats of approximately 1 kilobase are separated by imperfect polypurine tracts (PPT). Positions of genomic primers used for SmPoMuc gene amplification (Intron2/3F1 – Exon15R) are indicated by arrows. PCR amplicon position used for gene copy number quantification is indicated by a bold line (–) and the position of a ribozyme between exon 9 and 10 is indicated by an asterisk. Triangles and chevrons indicate complementary sequence positions (12 and 13 nucleotides, respectively) identified in introns of the genomic repeats containing exon 2.