Dinoflagellate 17S rRNA sequence inferred from the gene sequence: Evolutionary implications

Abstract

We present the complete sequence of the nuclear-encoded small-ribosomal-subunit RNA inferred from the cloned gene sequence of the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum micans. The dinoflagellate 17S rRNA sequence of 1798 nucleotides is contained in a family of 200 tandemly repeated genes per haploid genome. A tentative model of the secondary structure of P. micans 17S rRNA is presented. This sequence is compared with the small-ribosomal-subunit rRNA of Xenopus laevis (Animalia), Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Fungi), Zea mays (Planta), Dictyostelium discoideum (Protoctista), and Halobacterium volcanii (Monera). Although the secondary structure of the dinoflagellate 17S rRNA presents most of the eukaryotic characteristics, it contains sufficient archaeobacterial-like structural features to reinforce the view that dinoflagellates branch off very early from the eukaryotic lineage.