overview
Information provided here summarizes and supplements: Gillespie, J.J., Cannone, J.J., Gutell, R.R., Cognato, A.I., 2004b. A
secondary structural model of the 28S rRNA expansion segments D2 and D3 from
rootworms and related leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae; Galerucinae).
Insect Mol. Biol. 13: 495-518. 
abstract
We analyze the secondary structure of two expansion segments (D2, D3) of the 28S rRNA gene from 229 leaf beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), the majority of which are in the subfamily Galerucinae. The sequences are compared in a multiple sequence alignment, with secondary structure inferred primarily from the compensatory base changes in the conserved helices of the rRNA molecules. This comparative approach yielded 30 helices that are comprised of base pairs with positional covariation. Based on these leaf beetle sequences, we report an annotated secondary structural model for the D2, D3 expansion segments that will prove useful in assigning positional nucleotide homology for phylogeny reconstruction in these and closely related beetle taxa. This predicted structure, consisting of seven major compound helices, is mostly consistent with previously proposed models for the D2 and D3 expansion segments in insects. Despite a lack of conservation in the primary structure of these regions of insect 28S rRNA, the evolution of the secondary structure of these seven major motifs may be informative above the nucleotide level for higher-order phylogeny reconstruction of major insect lineages.
figures
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