Cloning and sequencing of a leech homolog to the Drosophila engrailed gene

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Abstract
We have cloned and sequenced a homolog (ht-en) to the Drosphila engrailed (en) gene from the glossiphoniid leech, Helobdella triserialis. Amino acid comparisons of the ht-en homeodomain and C-terminal residues with the corresponding residues encoded by en-class genes of other species reveal 75–79% sequence identity. In addition, the ht-en sequence appears to have u serine-rich region 16 residues C-terminal from the homeodomain, which by analogy to Drosophila may be a target site for phosphorylation. The leech gene encodes some amino acid substitutions for residues that are highly conserved in other species. These are found within the second and third of the three putative helices of the homeodomain, and in both of the intervening turn regions