The metallothionein gene of Drosophila.

Abstract

A chromosomal DNA segment containing the metallothionein gene was isolated from a genomic library of Drosophila melanogaster. A segment of 1543 bp was sequenced and found to include the structural sequence interrupted by one small intron. Within 300 bases upstream of the apparent site of transcription initiation, there are several short intervals very similar to the 12-base-pair segments considered to be responsible for metal regulation in mammalian systems. Several lines of evidence indicate that there is a single copy of the metallothionein gene (Mtn) in Drosophila. Mtn is located in the right arm of the third chromosome in region 85E10-15.