Eukaryotic operon-like transcription of functionally related genes in Drosophila

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Abstract
Complex biological processes require coordinated function of many genes. One evolutionary solution to the problem of coordinately expressing functionally related genes in bacteria and nematodes is organization of genes in operons. Surprisingly, eukaryotic operons are considered rare outside the nematode lineage. In Drosophila melanogaster , we found lounge lizard ( llz ), which encodes a degenerin/ENaC cation channel, cotranscribed with CheB42a , a nonhomologous gene of unknown function residing Drosophila operons. These data reveal eukaryotic operon-like transcription of functionally related genes in Drosophila . The results also suggest that operon-based transcription may be more common in eukaryotes than previously appreciated.