A single gene encoding vitellogenin in the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus: sequence at the 5' end.

The synthesis of vitellogenin (yolk protein precursor) in the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, is unique in that both males and females produce a high level of the protein. In this paper we show that this organism also is unique in possessing only a single vitellogenin gene. Like the genes that encode analogous proteins in vertebrates, the sea urchin gene is large, about 19 kb in length. The sequence surrounding the 5' end of the gene revealed several other similarities to vertebrate vitellogenin genes: the signal sequence is exceptionally short and has a sequence similar to those from frog and chick; there is a canonical TATA box at -32; and there is a sequence closely resembling the estrogen-responsive element at -207.