ANALYSIS OF SPLICING SIGNALS OF SCORPION VENOM PEPTIDE INTRONS
蝎毒液肽基因内含子剪接信号分析

The genomic DNAs encoding two new venom peptides, BmTXKS1 (an short-chain K channel toxin-like peptide) and BmTXKS2(a defensin-like peptide) were isolated and characterized from Buthus martensii Karsch. Sequence analysis showed that they are both similar in genomic organization, which is composed of two exons and one intron located in the signal peptide (BmTXKS1) or pro-peptide (BmTXKS2) coding region. By compiling and analyzing the scorpion venom peptide introns reported so far, the consensus sequences related to intron splice were determined and compared with those of other organisms. These results are valuable to further study the splicing mechanism of scorpion venom peptide introns and for comparing the relationship between evolution and function of introns among different species.