Nucleotide sequence of an exceptionally long 5.8S ribosomal RNA from Crithidia fasciculata

Abstract

In Crithidia fasciculata, a trypanosomatid protozoan, the large ribosomal subunit contains five small RNA species (e, f, g, i, j) in addition to 5S rRNA [Gray, M.W. (1981) Mol. Cell. Biol. 1, 347-357]. The complete primary sequence of species i is shown here to be pAACGUGUmCGCGAUGGAUGACUUGGCUUCCUAUCUCGUUGA ... AGAmACGCAGUAAAGUGCGAUAAGUGGUApsiCAAUUGmCAGAAUCAUUCAAUUACCGAAUCUUUGAACGAAACGG ... CGCAUGGGAGAAGCUCUUUUGAGUCAUCCCCGUGCAUGCCAUAUUCUCCAmGUGUCGAA(C)OH. This sequence establishes that species i is a 5.8S rRNA, despite its exceptional length (171-172 nucleotides). The extra nucleotides in C. fasciculata 5.8S rRNA are located in a region whose primary sequence and length are highly variable among 5.8S rRNAs, but which is capable of forming a stable hairpin loop structure (the "G+C-rich hairpin"). The sequence of C. fasciculata 5.8S rRNA is no more closely related to that of another protozoan, Acanthamoeba castellanii, than it is to representative 5.8S rRNA sequences from the other eukaryotic kingdoms, emphasizing the deep phylogenetic divisions that seem to exist within the Kingdom Protista.