从Cyt b基因序列探讨Grophosoma属和Dybowskyia属的分类地位(半翅目:蝽科)

对蝽科11种昆虫的线粒体细胞色素b（Cyt b）基因部分序列进行测定和分析,在获得的长度为432bp的序列片段中,碱基T、C、 A、G的平均含量分别为38.8%、18.0%、31.6%和11.6%, A＋T平均含量为70.4%,明显高于G＋C含量（29.6 %）.密码子第三位点的A＋T含量高达86.1%.属种间序列变异丰富,有179个核苷酸位点发生变异,变异率为41.4%,碱基替换多发生于第三位点.以筛豆龟蝽Megacopta cribraria为外群构建的系统发育树表明：滴蝽属与蝽亚科其它属关系较远,条蝽属与蝽亚科其它属关系较近,结合形态特征与序列变异情况,支持将滴蝽属从蝽亚科划出并入舌盾蝽亚科,但条蝽属的分类地位仍需要进一步探讨.     

草盲蝽属中国种类纪要：半翅目：盲蝽科

本文共记述半翅目盲蝽科的常见属—草盲蝽属Lygus(s.str.)Hahn中国种类共11种。其中包括3个新种:毛斑草盲蝽L.paradiscrepans sp.nov.,西藏草盲蝽L.tibetanus sp.nov.,萧氏草盲蝽L.hsiaoi sp.nov.;1个中国新记录种:瓦氏草盲蝽L.wagneri(Remane);以及1项新组合:将poluensis Wagner由Exolygus Wagner属移入本属。文章提供了名录、分布纪录和新种描述     

中国树丽盲蝽属分类研究：半翅目：盲蝽科

本文报道我国树丽盲蝽属种类共１７种。提出３个新组合：Ａｒｄａｓｙｐｔｅｒｕｓ ,ｃｏｍｂ ．ｎｏｖ．Ａｒ．ｐｒｏｎｏｔａｌｉｓ ,ｃｏｍｂ．ｎｏｖ．;并记述了９个新种,衰劳树丽盲蝽Ａｒ．ａｉｌａｏｅｎｓｉｓ喜马树丽盲蝽Ａｒ．ｈｉｍａｌａｙｉｃｕｓ,狭长树丽盲蝽Ａｒ．ｌｏｎｇｕｌｕｓ,任氏树丽盲蝽Ａｒ．ｒｅｎａｅ,黑褐树丽盲蝽Ａｒ．ｐｉｃｉｎｕｓ,环胫树丽盲蝽Ａｒ．ｔｉｂｉａｌｉｓ,五指山树丽盲蝽Ａ     

基于Cytb基因序列探讨蝽亚科11种昆虫的系统发育关系

对蝽亚科6属11种昆虫线粒体DNA细胞色素b基因部分序列进行PCR扩增和序列测定。比较其同源性,统计密码子使用频率并应用生物学软件构建分子系统树。在获得的432bp序列中,碱基T,C,A和G的平均含量分别是38．1,18．2,31．9和11．8％,表现出强烈的AT偏向性;就每个氨基酸密码子来看,第3位点的A＋T含量较高,达到85．5％。该序列片段中共有162个核甘酸位点发生变异（约占37．5％）,种间序列差异范围为0．9％～19．4％,平均为16．6％,变异较大。以筛豆龟蝽Megaeopta cribraria为外群,通过多种方法构建的系统发育树拓扑结构一致,这6属11种昆虫大致形成4个分支：珀蝽属、碧蝽属、菜蝽属3属的关系最接近,形成一个分支;真蝽属的3种聚为1支,与第1支形成姊妹群;曼蝽属的2种形成1支;麻皮蝽位于系统树的基部,为分化较早的1支,是蝽亚科中较为原始的类群。     

丽盲蝽属(丽盲蝽亚属)中国种类修订(半翅目:盲蝽科:盲蝽亚科)(英文)

对丽盲蝽属 (丽盲蝽亚属 )Lygocoris (subg .Lygocoris)的中国种类作了修订。文中共包括 19个种 ,其中有 12新种 ,1个中国新纪录种 ,并包括 1项新等级的认定。即暗胝丽盲蝽L .(L .)calligersp .nov .(正模 :四川峨眉山九老洞 ) ,程氏丽盲蝽L .(L .)chengisp .nov .(正模 :四川峨眉山大乘寺 ) ,晕斑丽盲蝽L .(L .)diffusomaculatussp .nov .(正模 :甘肃榆中兴隆山 ) ,淡色丽盲蝽L .(L .)dilutussp .nov .(正模 :甘肃夏河县合作 ) ,锈褐丽盲蝽L .(L .) ferrugineussp .nov .(正模 :云南哀牢山 ) ,褐盾丽盲蝽L .(L .) fuscoscutel latus (Reuter ,190 6 )stat .nov .[由L .(L .)striicornisvar.fuscoscutellatus升为种级阶元 ],广西丽盲蝽L .(L .) guangxiensissp .nov .(正模 :广西龙胜 ) ,东亚丽盲蝽L .(L .)idoneus(Linnavuori,196 3) (中国新纪录种 ) ,完脊丽盲蝽L .(L .)integricarinatussp .nov .(甘肃榆中麻家寺 ) ,林氏丽盲蝽L .(L .)linnavuoriisp .nov .(云南哀牢山簸箕坝 ) ,长翅丽盲蝽L .(L .)longipennis (Reuter ,190 6 ) ,斑盾丽盲蝽L .(L .)maculis cutellatussp .nov .(四川理县刷经寺 ) ,原丽盲蝽L .(L .) pabulinus (Linnaeus ,176 1) ,红盾丽盲蝽L .(L .)rufiscutellatussp .nov .(甘     

丽盲蝽属(丽盲蝽亚属)中国种类修订1)(半翅目: 盲蝽科: 盲蝽亚科)

对丽盲蝽属（丽盲蝽亚属）Lygocoris(subg.Lygocoris)的中国种类作了修订。文中共包括19个种,其中有12新种,1个中国新世录种,并包括1项新等级的认定。即暗胝丽盲蝽L．（L．）calliger sp.nov.(正模：四川峨眉山九老洞）,程氏丽盲蝽L.(L.)chengi sp.nov.（正模：四川峨眉山大乘寺）,晕斑丽盲蝽L.(L.)diffusomaculatus sp.nov.(正模：甘肃榆中兴隆山）,淡色丽盲蝽L.(L.)dilutus sp.nov.（正模：甘肃夏河县合作）,锈褐丽盲蝽L.(L.)ferrugineus sp.nov.（正模L：云南衰牢山）,褐盾丽盲蝽L.(L.)fuscoscutellatus(Reute,1906)stat.nov,[由L.(L.)striicornis var.fuscoscutellatus升为种级阶元],广西丽盲蝽L.(L.)guangxiensis sp.nov.(正模：广西龙胜）,东亚丽盲蝽L.(L.)idoneus (Linnavuori,1963)（中国新纪录种）,完脊丽盲蝽L.(L.)integricarinatus sp.nov.(甘肃榆中麻家寺）,林氏丽盲蝽L.(L.)linnavuorii sp.nov,（云南哀牢山簸箕坝）,长翅丽盲蝽L.(L.)longipennis(Reuter,1906),斑质丽盲蝽L.(L.)maculiscutellatus sp.nov,(四川理县刷经寺）,原丽盲蝽L.(L.)pabulinus(Linnaeus,1761),红质丽盲蝽L.(L.)rufiscutellatus sp.nov.(甘肃榆中）,中红丽盲蝽L.(L.)pabulinus(Linnaeus,1961),红盾丽盲蝽L.(L.)rufiscutellatus sp.nov.（甘肃榆中）,中红丽盲蝽L.(L.)rufomedialis sp.nov.(云南玉龙山）,皱胸丽盲蝽L.(L.)rugosicollis(Reuter,1906),四川丽盲蝽L.(L.)sichuanicus sp.nov.(四川巴尔康）,纹角丽盲蝽L.(L.)striicornis(Reuter,1906),台湾丽盲蝽L.(L.)taivanus(Poppius,1915)。模式标本除注明者外,均存于南开大学生物系昆虫标本室。     

甘肃省丽盲蝽属二新种（半翅目：盲蝽科）

本文记述分布于甘肃省的丽盲蝽属新丽盲蝽亚属（ｓｕｂｇ．Ｎｅｄｙｇｕｓ）二新种,修长丽盲蝽Ｌｙｇｏｃｏｒｉｓ（Ｎｅｏｌｙｕｇｓ）ｅｌｏｎｇａｔｕｌｕｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．和甘肃丽盲蝽Ｌｙｇｏｃｏｒｉｓ（ｎｅｏｌｙｇｕｓ）ｇａｎｓｕｅｎｓｉｓｓｐ．ｎｏｖ模式标本均存放南开大学生物系。     

中国蕨盲蝽属分类修订（半翅目：盲蝽科）

本文提议将蕨盲蝽属Ｂｒｙｏｃｏｒｉｓ Ｆａｌｌｅｎ分为两个亚属：蕨盲蝽亚属ｓｕｂｇ．Ｂｒｙｏｃｏｒｉｓ Ｆａｌｌｅｎ和锥喙蕨盲昃亚属ｓｕｂｇ、Ｃｏｂａｌｏｒｒｈｙｎｃｈｕｓ Ｒｅｕｔｅｒ（ｓｔａｔ．ｎｏｖ．）。文中记载此属的中国种类共１３种,包括８个新种：卜氏蕨盲蝽Ｂ．ｂｕｉ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．（正模♂,云南绿春）,凹北蕨盲蝽Ｂ．ｃｏｎｃａｖｕｓ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．（正模♂,云南云龙）,李氏蕨盲蝽Ｂ．ｌｉ     

缘蝽亚科和巨缘蝽亚科部分种类细胞色素b基因序列及系统进化研究的探讨(半翅目:缘蝽科)

以线粒体细胞色素b(Cytb)基因作为分子标记,首次对缘蝽亚科和巨缘蝽亚科9种昆虫进行序列测定,获得Cytb基因412bp序列片段,该片段中碱基T、C、A、G的平均含量分别为34.0%、11.6%、34.5%和19.9%,A T平均含量为68.5%,明显高于G C含量(31.5%)。密码子第3位点的A T含量高达79.8%,属种间序列变异大,有188个核苷酸位点发生变异,碱基替换多发生于第3位点。以筛豆龟蝽为外群构建系统发育树,表明黑缘蝽属与缘蝽亚科其它属关系较远,同缘蝽属与巨缘蝽亚科关系较近,结合形态特征与序列变异情况,建议将黑缘蝽属和同缘蝽属从缘蝽亚科划出,同缘蝽归属于巨缘蝽亚科,并将黑缘蝽属提升为亚科。     

基于Cyt b基因探讨羚羊亚科原羚属系统发生关系

原羚属物种在羚羊亚科中的分类地位尚存在很多争议。本文测定了原羚属的黄羊和藏原羚细胞色素b基因全序列(1140bp),并与牛科其它属31个种的同源序列进行比较,对其碱基组成变异情况及核苷酸序列差异进行了分析。基于细胞色素b基因全序列,用简约法(MP)、邻接法(NJ)和似然法(ML)构建了系统进化树。结果表明：黄羊和藏原羚的序列差异为3．78％,颠换数目近乎为0,其突变远未饱和;原羚属内黄羊和藏原羚为不同种,单系发生;原羚属与赛加羚羊属、犬羚属及跳羚属等并系发生,原羚属隶属于羚羊亚科,应为独立属;羚羊亚科组成属间多为并系起源。根据序列差异值2％／百万年的细胞色素6分子钟,推测黄羊和藏原羚分歧时间大约为1～2百万年;原羚属与羚羊亚科其它属分歧时间大约在5．7～8百万年。     

蓝舌病毒野毒株及疫苗株S10基因多态性分析研究

对中国蓝舌病毒1株疫苗株、31株野毒株及1株南非毒株进行测序。结果揭示33株毒株S10基因核苷酸长度均为822bp,S10基因为基因内基因,其核苷酸链的第20～22和59～61位有两个起始密码子,共有终止子在707～709位,预测编码NS3和NS3A两种蛋白;32株中国毒株间核苷酸差异0～107个,同源性86%～100%; NS3蛋白氨基酸差异0～10个,同源性956%～100%。测序毒株与GenBank中9株其它毒株比较,建立的S10基因系统发生树,将蓝舌病毒分为China group和US group两大基因群,两大群的同源性为85%;US group包括美国8株及南非1株毒株;China group包括中国32株及澳大利亚1株毒株;说明蓝舌病毒S10基因分群与毒株的地理区域来源有关。在国内首次进行了全国较大范围内蓝舌病毒分子流行病学调查,揭示了我国蓝舌病毒毒株的遗传多样性。     

Assessment of concordance among genealogical reconstructions from various mtDNA segments in three species of Pacific salmon (genus Oncorhynchus)

Seven segments of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), comprising 97% of the mitochondrial genome, were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and examined for restriction site variation using 13 restriction endonucleases in three species of Pacific salmon: pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), chum (O. keta) and sockeye (O. nerka) salmon. The distribution of variability across the seven mtDNA segments differed substantially among species. Little similarity in the distribution of variable restriction sites was found even between the mitochondrial genomes of the even- and odd-year broodlines of pink salmon. Significantly different levels of nucleotide diversity were detected among three groups of genes: six NADH-dehydrogenase genes had the highest; two rRNA genes had the lowest; and a group that included genes for ATPase and cytochrome oxidase subunits, the cytochrome b gene, and the control region had intermediate levels of nucleotide diversity. Genealogies of mtDNA haplotypes were reconstructed for each species, based on the variation in all mtDNA segments. The contributions of variation within different segments to resolution of the genealogical trees were compared within each species. With the exception of sockeye salmon, restriction site data from different genome segments tended to produce rather different trees (and hence rather different genealogies). In the majority of cases, genealogical information in different segments of mitochondrial genome was additive rather than congruent. This finding has a relevance to phylogeographic studies of other organisms and emphasizes the importance of not relying on a limited segment of the mtDNA genome to derive a phylogeographic structure.     

A genome-wide study of recombination rate variation in Bartonella henselae

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: Rates of recombination vary by three orders of magnitude in bacteria but the reasons for this variation is unclear. We performed a genome-wide study of recombination rate variation among genes in the intracellular bacterium Bartonella henselae, which has among the lowest estimated ratio of recombination relative to mutation in prokaryotes. RESULTS: The 1.9 Mb genomes of B. henselae strains IC11, UGA10 and Houston-1 genomes showed only minor gene content variation. Nucleotide sequence divergence levels were less than 1% and the relative rate of recombination to mutation was estimated to 1.1 for the genome overall. Four to eight segments per genome presented significantly enhanced divergences, the most pronounced of which were the virB and trw gene clusters for type IV secretion systems that play essential roles in the infection process. Consistently, multiple recombination events were identified inside these gene clusters. High recombination frequencies were also observed for a gene putatively involved in iron metabolism. A phylogenetic study of this gene in 80 strains of Bartonella quintana, B. henselae and B. grahamii indicated different population structures for each species and revealed horizontal gene transfers across Bartonella species with different host preferences. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis has shown little novel gene acquisition in B. henselae, indicative of a closed pan-genome, but higher recombination frequencies within the population than previously estimated. We propose that the dramatically increased fixation rate for recombination events at gene clusters for type IV secretion systems is driven by selection for sequence variability.     

Papilio phylogeny based on mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I and II genes

Butterflies of the genus Papilio have served as the basis for numerous studies in insect physiology, genetics, and ecology. However, phylogenetic work on relationships among major lineages in the genus has been limited and inconclusive. We have sequenced 2.3 kb of DNA from the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I and II genes (COI and COII) for 23 Papilio taxa and two outgroups, Pachliopta neptunus and Eurytides marcellus, in order to assess the potential of these genes for use in Papilio phylogenetics and to examine patterns of gene evolution across a broad taxonomic range. Nucleotide and amino acid variation is distributed heterogeneously, both within and between genes. Structural features of the proteins are not always reliable predictors of variation. In a combined analysis, these sequences support a nearly fully resolved topology within subgenera and species groups, though higher level relationships among species groups require additional study. The most noteworthy findings are that neither Papilio alexanor nor P. xuthus belongs in the machaon group and that the subgenus Pterourus is paraphyletic with respect to the subgenus Pyrrhosticta. We leave relationships among members of the phorcas species group as a trichotomy. These two protein coding genes, particularly COI, show excellent performance in resolving relationships at the level of species and species groups among Papilionidae. We strongly endorse a similar approach for future studies aimed at these levels.     

Evidence for positive selection at the pantophysin (Pan I) locus in walleye pollock, Theragra chalcogramma

Nucleotide polymorphism at the pantophysin (Pan I) locus in walleye pollock, Theragra chalcogramma, was examined using DNA sequence data. Two distinct allelic lineages were detected in pollock, resulting from three amino acid replacement mutations in the first intravesicular domain of the protein. The common Pan I allelic group, comprising 94% of the samples, was less polymorphic (pi = 0.005) than the uncommon group (pi = 0.008), and nucleotide diversity in both was higher than for two allelic lineages in the related Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua. Phylogenetic analyses of Pan I sequences from these two species did not clearly resolve orthology among allelic groups, in part because of recombination that has occurred between the two pollock lineages. Conventional tests of neutrality comparing polymorphisms within and between homologous regions of the Pan I locus in walleye pollock and Atlantic cod did not detect the effects of selection. This result is likely attributed to low levels of synonymous divergence among allelic lineages and a lack of mutation-drift equilibrium inferred from nucleotide mismatch frequency distributions. However, the ratio of nonsynonymous to synonymous substitutions per site (dN/dS) exceeded unity in two intravesicular domains of the protein and the influence of positive selection at multiple codon sites was strongly inferred through the use of maximum-likelihood analyses. In addition, the frequency spectrum of linked neutral variation showed indirect effects of adaptive hitchhiking in pollock resulting from a selective sweep of the common allelic lineage. Recombination between the two allelic classes may have prevented complete loss of the older, more polymorphic lineage. The results suggest that recurrent sweeps driven by positive selection is the principle mode of evolution at the Pan I locus in gadid fishes.     

Nucleotide Variation and Divergence in the Histone Multigene Family in Drosophila Melanogaster

Nucleotide differences in the histone H3 gene family in Drosophila melanogaster were studied on three levels: (1) within a chromosome, (2) within a population and (3) between species (D. melanogaster and Drosophila simulans). The average difference within the H3 gene within a chromosome was 0.0040 per nucleotide site, about 52% of that within a population (0.0077). The proportion of divergent sites between the two species was 0.0575, which is about 8.5 times the difference within a species. The distribution of divergence between species was similar to that of variation within a species. Divergence and variation were noted to be greatest in the 3' noncoding region and least in the coding region. Values intermediate between these were found for the 5' noncoding region. Divergence and variation in silent sites exceeded those in the total coding region, thus indicating possible purifying selection for amino-acid-altering change. Phylogenetic relations among H3 genes and genetic differences on these three levels are evidence for the concerted evolution of the histone gene family. The molecular mechanism by which variation is produced and maintained is discussed.     

A Reanalysis of Protein Polymorphism in Drosophila Melanogaster, D. Simulans, D. Sechellia and D. Mauritiana: Effects of Population Size and Selection

Comparison of synonymous and nonsynonymous variation/substitution within and between species at individual genes has become a widely used general approach to detect the effect of selection versus drift. The sibling species group comprised of two cosmopolitan (Drosophila melanogaster and Drosophila simulans) and two island (Drosophila mauritiana and Drosophila sechellia) species has become a model system for such studies. In the present study we reanalyzed the pattern of protein variation in these species, and the results were compared against the patterns of nucleotide variation obtained from the literature, mostly available for melanogaster and simulans. We have mainly focused on the contrasting patterns of variation between the cosmopolitan pair. The results can be summarized as follows: (1) As expected the island species D. mauritiana and D. sechellia showed much less variation than the cosmopolitan species D. melanogaster and D. simulans. (2) The chromosome 2 showed significantly less variation than chromosome 3 and X in all four species which may indicate effects of past selective sweeps. (3) In contrast to its overall low variation, D. mauritiana showed highest variation for X-linked loci which may indicate introgression from its sibling, D. simulans. (4) An average population of D. simulans was as heterozygous as that of D. melanogaster (14.4% v.s. 13.9%) but the difference was large and significant when considering only polymorphic loci (37.2% v.s. 26.1%). (5) The species-wise pooled populations of these two species showed similar results (all loci = 18.3% v.s. 20.0%, polymorphic loci = 47.2% v.s. 37.6%). (6) An average population of D. simulans had more low-frequency alleles than D. melanogaster, and the D. simulans alleles were found widely distributed in all populations whereas the D. melanogaster alleles were limited to local populations. As a results of this, pooled populations of D. melanogaster showed more polymorphic loci than those of D. simulans (48.0% v.s. 32.0%) but the difference was reduced when the comparison was made on the basis of an average population (29.1% v.s. 21.4%). (7) While the allele frequency distributions within populations were nonsignificant in both D. melanogaster and D. simulans, melanogaster had fewer than simulans, but more than expected from the neutral theory, low frequency alleles. (8) Diallelic loci with the second allele with a frequency less than 20% had similar frequencies in all four species but those with the second allele with a frequency higher than 20% were limited to only melanogaster the latter group of loci have clinal (latitudinal) patterns of variation indicative of balancing selection. (9) The comparison of D. simulans/D. melanogaster protein variation gave a ratio of 1.04 for all loci and 1.42 for polymorphic loci, against a ratio of approximately 2-fold difference for silent nucleotide sites. This suggests that the species ratios of protein and silent nucleotide polymorphism are too close to call for selective difference between silent and allozyme variation in D. simulans. In conclusion, the contrasting levels of allozyme polymorphism, distribution of rare alleles, number of diallelic loci and the patterns of geographic differentiation between the two species suggest the role of natural selection in D. melanogaster, and of possibly ancient population structure and recent worldwide migration in D. simulans. Population size differences alone are insufficient as an explanation for the patterns of variation between these two species.     

Molecular Basis of Polymorphism at the Esterase-5b Locus in Drosophila Pseudoobscura

Sequence variation was studied in a 2.2-kb region encompassing the esterase-5B locus in Drosophila pseudoobscura from two California populations. In these populations, two common electrophoretic classes and many less frequent variants occur, and it was formerly shown by KEITH (1983) that allele frequencies differed from random distribution under an infinite allele model. Nucleotide polymorphisms were determined in 16 sequences representing 14 electrophoretic classes. There was no significant sequence differentiation between populations, and both synonymous and nonsynonymous polymorphisms are distributed homogeneously along the sequence. The data show that the two major electrophoretic classes are heterogeneous at the amino acid level with no diagnostic amino acid(s) distinguishing them. At the nucleotide level, members of one major class are more similar to members of other electrophoretic classes than they are to each other. It appears that random combinations of the neutral amino acid polymorphisms and other undefined physical properties of the proteins generate the different electrophoretic classes and maintain considerable variation at Est-5B.     

Complete Mitochondrial Genome Sequence Data Provides Genetic Evidence That the Brown Dog Tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Acari: Ixodidae) Represents a Species Complex

Ticks are blood-sucking ectoparasites of great medical and veterinary significance that can transmit bacteria, protozoa, fungi and viruses, and cause a variety of human and animal diseases worldwide. In the present study, we sequenced the complete mitochondrial (mt) genome of Rhipicephalus sanguineus from China (RSC) and compared with that of R. sanguineus from USA (RSU). Nucleotide sequence difference in the full mt genome was 11.23% between RSC and RSU. For the 13 protein-coding genes, comparison revealed sequence divergences at both the nucleotide (9.34-15.65%) and amino acid (2.54-19.23%) levels between RSC and RSU. In addition, sequence comparison of the conserved mt cox1 and cytb genes among multiple individual R. sanguineus revealed substantial nucleotide differences between RSC and RSU but limited sequence variation within RSC. Phylogenetic analysis of ticks based on the amino acid sequence data of 13 protein-coding genes revealed that R. sanguineus from China and R. sanguineus from USA represent sister taxa (likely separate species). Taken together, the findings support the recently proposal that R. sanguineus tick may represents a species complex of at least two closely related species.     

The rat gene encoding neurotensin and neuromedin N. Structure, tissue-specific expression, and evolution of exon sequences

Recombinant DNA clones encoding the neurotensin/neuromedin N precursor protein have been isolated from both bovine hypothalamus cDNA and rat genomic libraries using a heterologous canine cDNA probe. Nucleotide sequence analysis of these clones and comparison with the previously determined canine sequence has revealed that 76% of the amino acid residues are conserved in all three species. The protein precursor sequences predicted from bovine hypothalamus and canine intestine cDNA clones vary at only 9 of 170 amino acid residues suggesting that within a species identical precursors are synthesized in both the central nervous system and intestine. The rat gene spans approximately 10.2 kilobases (kb) and is divided into four exons by three introns. The neurotensin and neuromedin N coding domains are tandemly positioned on exon 4. RNA blot analysis has revealed that the rat gene is transcribed to yield two distinct mRNAs, 1.0 and 1.5 kb in size, in all gastrointestinal and all neural tissues examined except the cerebellum. There is a striking variation in the relative levels of these two mRNAs between brain and intestine. The smaller 1.0-kb mRNA greatly predominates in intestine while both mRNA species are nearly equally abundant in hypothalamus, brain stem, and cortex. Sequence comparisons and RNA blot analysis indicate that these two mRNAs result from the differential utilization of two consensus poly(A) addition signals and differ in the extent of their 3' untranslated regions. The relative combined levels of the mRNAs in various brain and intestine regions correspond roughly with the relative levels of immunologically detectable neurotensin except in the cerebral cortex where mRNA levels are 6 times higher than anticipated.