Characterization of MboI repeat DNA sequence of Anopheles stephensi.

MboI repeat fragment of mosquito Anopheles stephensi has been isolated by molecular cloning. The restriction map and entire nucleotide sequence of the 433bp insert has been determined. Hybridization of this repeat DNA with restriction enzyme digest of mosquito DNA does not show an interspersed pattern but suggests that this repeat may be tandemly repeated at one major site and a few minor sites in the genome of Anopheles stephensi. The hybridization pattern also indicates that this repeat family comprises of many similar but non-identical sequences. An open reading frame encoding 66 amino acids with an initiation and two tandem termination codons has been identified. This putative 66 amino acid polypeptide sequence has significant homology to a small region of RNA tumour viral envelope protein.