Evolution of the AMP-forming acetyl-CoA synthetase gene in the Drosophilidae family

Analysis of the AMP-forming ACS gene was performed in 12 species of the Drosophilidae family. Systematically four introns, aligned at the same positions, were detected, but none of them showed a position similar to those known for species outside the Drosophilidae family. The average length of introns varied from 63 to 75 bp but in two species Drosophila takahashii and D. kikkawai the length of the second intron was 343 and 210 bp, respectively. In coding regions, about 80% of the third codon positions were substituted while first and second positions showed, respectively, 14% and 6% substitutions. Interestingly, the divergence observed at the protein level between species was very low. The phylogenetic tree based on the DNA sequences of the exons was mainly in agreement with taxonomic classification and previous molecular phylogenies except for D. ananassae, which appeared more closely related to D. subobscura and D. funebris than to the species of the melanogaster group.