Onchocerca volvulus: identification of cDNAs encoding a putative phosphatidyl-ethanolamine-binding protein and a putative partially processed mRNA precursor.

We have identified and sequenced cDNAs of the parasitic nematode Onchocerca volvulus which encode a homologue of phosphatidylethanolamine-binding proteins from mammals. These clones are also closely related to the O. volvulus Ov16 cDNA (Lobos et al., 1990). One identified cDNA clone appears to represent a partially processed precursor. These results suggest that these cDNAs are derived from a complex genomic locus, raising the possibility of polycistronic transcription in this nematode.