Isolation and Characterization of the Drosophila Ornithine Decarboxylase Locus: Evidence for the Presence of Two Transcribed ODC Genes in the Drosophila Genome

The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to isolate two Drosophila ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) genes. Two mixtures of degenerate oligonucleotides corresponding to peptides that are fully conserved among ODCs from widely diverged species were used as opposing primers in the PCR with cDNA or genomic DNA as templates. Sequence analysis of the resulting DNA products confirmed their identity as ODC fragments. The genomic PCR product was then used as a probe for screening a Drosophila genomic library, resulting in the isolation of genomic clones representing two distinct ODC genes (dODCl and dODC2). Sequence analysis of both genes demonstrated that although varying at their coding and noncoding regions, their overall structure is extremely similar containing 6 exons and 5 short introns. Southern blot and sequence analyses revealed that the two ODC genes are arranged in a tandem head-to-tail configuration. Both ODC genes were assigned by in situ hybridization analysis to position 44A on the right arm of the second chromosome. The isolation of cDNA clones corresponding to these two ODC genes demonstrated that both are transcribed in the adult fly. We hope that the isolation of genomic and cDNA clones of Drosophila ODC will permit the investigation of the expression of ODC during Drosophila development and the role of polyamines in this process.