An archaebacterial homolog of pelota, a meiotic cell division protein in eukaryotes

Abstract An open reading frame ( pelA ) specifying a homolog of pelota and DOM34, proteins required for meiotic cell division in Drosophila melanogaster and Saccharomyces cerevisiae , respectively, has been cloned, sequenced and identified from the archaebacterium Sulfolobus solfataricus . The S. solfataricus PelA protein is about 20% identical with pelota, DOM34 and the hypothetical protein R74.6 of Caenorhabditis elegans . The presence of a pelota homolog in archaebacteria implies that the meiotic functions of the eukaryotic protein were co-opted from, or added to, other functions existing before the emergence of eukaryotes. The nuclear localization signal and negatively charged carboxy-terminus characteristic of eukaryotic pelota-like proteins are absent from the S. solfataricus homolog, and hence may be indicative of the acquired eukaryotic function(s).