cDNA clones coding for α‐actinin of Dictyostelium discoideum

cDNA clones coding for Dictyostelium α‐actinin were isolated from a library in the expression vector λgt11 using a genomic probe that contains α‐actinin‐specific sequences. The recombinant phages harbored inserts with sizes up to 3.0 kb. They hybridized to a 3.0 kb message in Northern blot analysis and some produced fusion proteins that reacted with monoclonal antibodies directed against different epitopes of D. discoideum α‐actinin. The sizes of the inserts and the reaction with the monoclonal antibodies indicated that two of the phages carry a nearly complete copy of the α‐actinin message.