Showing papers in "Plant Molecular Biology in 1992"

Maize polyubiquitin genes: structure, thermal perturbation of expression and transcript splicing, and promoter activity following transfer to protoplasts by electroporation.

Abstract: Two genomic clones (lambda Ubi-1 and lambda Ubi-2) encoding the highly conserved 76 amino acid protein ubiquitin have been isolated from maize. Sequence analysis shows that both genes contain seven contiguous direct repeats of the protein coding region in a polyprotein conformation. The deduced amino acid sequence of all 14 repeats is identical and is the same as for other plant ubiquitins. The use of transcript-specific oligonucleotide probes shows that Ubi-1 and Ubi-2 are expressed constitutively at 25 degrees C but are inducible to higher levels at elevated temperatures in maize seedlings. Both genes contain an intron in the 5' untranslated region which is inefficiently processed following a brief, severe heat shock. The transcription start site of Ubi-1 has been determined and a transcriptional fusion of 0.9 kb of the 5' flanking region and the entire 5' untranslated sequence of Ubi-1 with the coding sequence of the gene encoding the reporter molecule chloramphenicol acetyl transferase (CAT) has been constructed (pUBI-CAT). CAT assays of extracts of protoplasts electroporated with this construct show that the ubiquitin gene fragment confers a high level of CAT expression in maize and other monocot protoplasts but not in protoplasts of the dicot tobacco. Expression from the Ubi-1 promoter of pUBI-CAT yields more than a 10-fold higher level of CAT activity in maize protoplasts than expression from the widely used cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter of a 35S-CAT construct. Conversely, in tobacco protoplasts CAT activity from transcription of pUBI-CAT is less than one tenth of the level from p35S-CAT.

A versatile binary vector system with a T-DNA organisational structure conducive to efficient integration of cloned DNA into the plant genome.

Abstract: A versatile gene expression cartridge and binary vector system was constructed for use in Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation. The expression cartridge of the primary cloning vector, pART7, comprises of cauliflower mosaic virus Cabb B-JI isolate 35S promoter, a multiple cloning site and the transcriptional termination region of the octopine synthase gene. The entire cartridge can be removed from pART7 as a Not I fragment and introduced directly into the binary vector, pART27, recombinants being selected by blue/white screening for beta-galactosidase. pART27 carries the RK2 minimal replicon for maintenance in Agrobacterium, the ColE1 origin of replication for high-copy maintenance in Escherichia coli and the Tn7 spectinomycin/streptomycin resistance gene as a bacterial selectable marker. The organisational structure of the T-DNA of pART27 has been constructed taking into account the right to left border, 5' to 3' model of T-DNA transfer. The T-DNA carries the chimaeric kanamycin resistance gene (nopaline synthase promoter-neomycin phosphotransferase-nopaline synthase terminator) distal to the right border relative to the lacZ' region. Utilisation of these vectors in Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of tobacco demonstrated efficient T-DNA transfer to the plant genome.

New plant binary vectors with selectable markers located proximal to the left T-DNA border

Abstract: Five new binary vectors have been constructed which have the following features: (1) different plant selectable markers including neomycin phosphotransferase (nptII), hygromycin phosphotransferase (hpt), dihydrofolate reductase (dhfr), phosphinothricin acetyl transferase (bar), and bleomycin resistance (ble); (2) selectable markers are located near the T-DNA left border and; (3) selectable marker and beta-glucuronidase (uidA) reporter genes are divergently organized for efficient expression, and can easily be removed or replaced as needed.

The chloroplast genome.

Abstract: Chloroplasts are intracellular organelles in plants which contain the entire machinery necessary for the process of photosynthesis. They also participate in the biosynthesis of amino acids, nucleotides, lipids and starch. Mendel’s law was rediscovered at the beginning of this century, and in 1909 Baur and Correns separately published the first reports of non-Mendelian inheritance based on studies of variegation in higher plants. Some of the green-and-white variegated leaves were shown to be caused by factors inherited in a non-Mendelian manner. Further analysis of variegation in higher plants revealed that the genetic determinants for these characters were associated with chloroplasts. However, the difficulty of obtaining specific chloroplast mutations has limited the study of non-Mendelian genetics in higher plants. Our knowledge of extranuclear genetics came primarily from studies using the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas.

The expression of a rab-related gene, rab18, is induced by abscisic acid during the cold acclimation process of Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh

Abstract: We have isolated a rab-related (responsive to ABA) gene, rab18 from Arabidopsis thaliana. The gene encodes a hydrophilic, glycine-rich protein (18.5 kDa), which contains the conserved serine- and lysine-rich domains characteristic of similar RAB proteins in other plant species. The rab18 mRNA accumulates in plants exposed to low temperature, water stress or exogenous ABA but not in plants subjected to heat shock. This stress-related accumulation of the rab18 mRNA is markedly decreased in the ABA-synthesis mutant aba-1, the ABA-response mutant abi-1 or in wild-type plants treated with the carotenoid synthesis inhibitor, fluridone. Exogenous ABA treatment can induce the rab18 mRNA in the aba-1 mutant but not in the abi-1 mutant. These results provide direct genetic evidence for the ABA-dependent regulation of the rab18 gene in A. thaliana.

Agrobacterium and plant genetic engineering

Abstract: More than eighty years ago now Smith and Townsend [141] published an article in which they presented evidence that the bacterium which is now called Agrobacterium tumefaciens is the causative agent of the widespread neoplastic plant disease crown gall (Fig. 1). Since then a large number of scientists throughout the world have focused their research on this organism in an effort to analyse the molecular mechanism underlying the process of crown gall induction in detail. This was driven by the hope that this would lead to a better understanding of oncogenesis in general, and to the development of remedies for such diseases. After a period of diminished interest in the system Agrobacterium and crown gall research revived when it became apparent that oncogenic gene transfer from Agrobacterium to plants might form the molecular basis of crown gall induction, and thus the transfer system might be exploited for the genetic engineering of plants.

cDNA sequence analysis and expression of two cold-regulated genes of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Abstract: The DNA sequences of cDNAs for twocor (cold-regulated) genes ofArabidopsis thaliana L. (Heyn) were determined. One cDNA (approximately 70% full-length) corresponds to acor gene, designatedcor47, that encodes a 47 kDa hydrophilic polypeptide. The data indicate that COR47 has amino acid sequence homology with Group II LEA (lateembryogenesisabundant) proteins, a class of proteins that accumulate late in embryo development. DNA sequence analysis of a second cDNA (containing the complete protein coding sequence) indicates that it represents acor gene, designatedcor6.6, that encodes an alanine-rich 6.6 kDa hydrophilic polypeptide. COR6.6 is almost identical to KIN1, a cold-regulatedArabidopsis gene that has been suggested to have amino acid sequence similarities with type I fish antifreeze proteins (S. Kurkela, M. Franck, Plant Mol Biol 15: 137–144, 1990). Northern analysis indicated that transcripts forcor47 andcor6.6 do not accumulate to high levels in late-developing embryos or fresh mature seeds as is typical oflea gene transcripts. The similarities and differences between COR and LEA proteins are discussed as are their possible roles in freezing and drought tolerance.

Molecular biology of fruit ripening and its manipulation with antisense genes.

Abstract: Considerable progress in tomato molecular biology has been made over the past five years. At least 19 different mRNAs which increase in amount during tomato fruit ripening have been cloned and genes for enzymes involved in cell wall degradation (polygalacturonase and pectinesterase) and ethylene synthesis (ACC synthase) have been identified by conventional procedures. Transgenic plants have been used to identify regions of DNA flanking fruit-specific, ripening-related and ethylene-regulated genes and trans-acting factors which bind to these promoters have also been identified. Antisense genes expressed in transgenic plants have proved to be highly effective for inhibiting the specific expression of ripening-related genes. These experiments have changed our understanding of how softening occurs in tomato fruit. Antisense techniques have also been used to identify genes encoding enzymes for carotenoid biosynthesis (phytoene synthase) and ethylene biosynthesis (the ethylene-forming enzyme). The altered characteristics of fruit transformed with specific antisense genes, such as retarded ripening and resistance to splitting, may prove to be of value to fruit growers, processors and ultimately the consumer.

Use of single-primer DNA amplifications in genetic studies of peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.).

Abstract: A recent approach to detecting genetic polymorphism involves the amplification of genomic DNA using single primers of arbitrary sequence. When separated electrophoretically in agarose gels, the amplification products give banding patterns that can be scored for genetic variation. The objective of this research was to apply these techniques to cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) and related wild species to determine whether such an approach would be feasible for the construction of a genetic linkage map in peanut or for systematic studies of the genus. Two peanut cultivars, 25 unadapted germplasm lines of A. hypogaea, the wild allotetraploid progenitor of cultivated peanut (A. monticola), A. glabrata (a tetraploid species from section Rhizomatosae), and 29 diploid wild species of Arachis were evaluated for variability using primers of arbitrary sequence to amplify segments of genomic DNA. No variation in banding pattern was observed among the cultivars and germplasm lines of A. hypogaea, whereas the wild Arachis species were uniquely identified with most primers tested. Bands were scored (+/-) in the wild species and the PAUP computer program for phylogenetic analysis and the HyperRFLP program for genetic distance analysis were used to generate dendrograms showing genetic relationships among the diploid Arachis species evaluated. The two analyses produced nearly identical dendrograms of species relationships. In addition, approximately 100 F2 progeny from each of two interspecific crosses were evaluated for segregation of banding patterns. Although normal segregation was observed among the F2 progeny from both crosses, banding patterns were quite complex and undesirable for use in genetic mapping. The dominant behavior of the markers prevented the differentiation of heterozygotes from homozygotes with certainty, limiting the usefulness of arbitrary primer amplification products as markers in the construction of a genetic linkage map in peanut.

Coordinated regulation of two indole alkaloid biosynthetic genes from Catharanthus roseus by auxin and elicitors.

Abstract: Catharanthus roseus (periwinkle) produces a wide range of terpenoid indole alkaloids, including several pharmaceutically important compounds, from the intermediate strictosidine. The complete mRNA sequence for the enzyme strictosidine synthase (SSS) was determined. Comparison of the primary structure of the encoded protein with the amino-terminal sequence of purified SSS indicated the presence of a signal peptide of 31 amino acids in the putative primary translation product. SSS is encoded by a single-copy gene indicating that isoenzymes reported by others are formed post-translationally from a single precursor. The sss gene and the tryptophan decarboxylase gene (tdc), encoding another enzyme essential for indole alkaloid biosynthesis, are coordinately regulated. In plants steady-state mRNA levels are highest in roots. In cell suspension cultures the genes are rapidly down-regulated by auxin. In contrast, both genes are strongly induced by fungal elicitors such as Pythium aphanidermatum culture filtrate or yeast extract. Induction is a rapid, transcriptional event occurring independent of de novo protein synthesis. These results show that a first important regulatory step in the complex process leading to indole alkaloid accumulation in C. roseus suspension cells is transcription of the biosynthetic genes.

A probable lipid transfer protein gene is induced by NaCl in stems of tomato plants.

Abstract: A full-length tomato cDNA clone, TSW12, which is developmentally and environmentally regulated, has been isolated and characterized. TSW12 mRNA is accumulated during tomato seed germination and its level increases after NaCl treatment or heat shock. In mature plants, TSW12 mRNA is only detected upon treatment with NaCl, mannitol or ABA and its expression mainly occurs in stems. The nucleotide sequence of TSW12 includes an open reading frame coding for a basic protein of 114 amino acids; the first 23 amino acids exhibit the sequence characteristic of a signal peptide. The high similarity between the TSW12-deduced amino acid sequence and reported lipid transfer proteins suggests that TSW12 encodes a lipid transfer protein.

Differential accumulation of mRNAs encoding extracellular and intracellular PR proteins in tomato induced by virulent and avirulent races of Cladosporium fulvum.

Abstract: Tomato leaves infected by the fungal pathogen Cladosporium fulvum contain several types of intracellular and extracellular pathogenesis-related (PR) proteins. Previously, we reported the purification and serological characterization of five extracellular PR proteins: P2, P4, P6, a chitinase and a β-1,3-glucanase [22, 23]. Here we describe the purification of a basic intracellular 33 kDa β-1,3-glucanase and the isolation and characterization of cDNA clones encoding the two extracellular P14 isomers P4 and P6, the extracellular acidic β-1,3-glucanase and a basic 35 kDa β-1,3-glucanase, different from the purified 33 kDa protein. Southern blot analysis demonstrated that tomato PR proteins are not encoded by large gene families, as is the case in tobacco. The number of genes corresponding to each protein was estimated to vary between one and three. A northern blot analysis indicated that the mRNAs for the extracellular PR proteins (P4, P6 and acidic β-1,3-glucanase) accumulate to similar levels in compatible and incompatible tomato-C. fulvum interactions, although the maximum level of expression is reached much faster in the incompatible interaction. On the other hand, the mRNA for the basic 35 kDa β-1,3-glucanase is induced rapidly to high levels in both interactions, but declines in time to background levels only in the incompatible interaction. The relevance of this difference in relation to plant defence is discussed.

Accumulation of a Brazil nut albumin in seeds of transgenic canola results in enhanced levels of seed protein methionine.

Abstract: We have increased the methionine content of the seed proteins of a commercial winter variety of canola by expressing a chimeric gene encoding a methionine-rich seed protein from Brazil nut in the seeds of transgenic plants. Transgenic canola seeds accumulate the heterologous methionine-rich protein at levels which range from 1.7% to 4.0% of the total seed protein and contain up to 33% more methionine. The precursor of the methionine-rich protein is processed correctly in the seeds, resulting in the appearance of the mature protein in the 2S protein fraction. The 2S methionine-rich protein accumulates in the transgenic seeds at the same time in development as the canola 11S seed proteins and disappears rapidly upon germination of the seed. The increase in methionine in the canola seed proteins should increase the value of canola meal which is used in animal feed formulations.

Expression of the pea metallothionein-like gene PsMTA in Escherichia coli and Arabidopsis thaliana and analysis of trace metal ion accumulation: implications for PsMTA function.

Abstract: The PsMTA gene from pea (Pisum sativum) shares similarity with metallothionein (MT) genes and related sequences have also been isolated from a number of other higher-plant species. The proteins encoded by these genes have not yet been purified from plants and their functions remain unclear although, by analogy to MT, roles in the metabolism and detoxification of metal ions have been proposed. By contrast, correlation between transcript abundance and Fe availability has led to an alternative proposal that these genes are involved in mechanisms of Fe efficiency.

Herbicide-resistant Indica rice plants from IRRI breeding line IR72 after PEG-mediated transformation of protoplasts

Abstract: The commercially important Indica rice cultivar Oryza sativa cv. IR72 has been transformed using direct gene transfer to protoplasts. PEG-mediated transformation was done with two plasmid constructs containing either a CaMV 35S promoter/HPH chimaeric gene conferring resistance to hygromycin (Hg) or a CaMV 35S promoter/BAR chimaeric gene conferring resistance to a commercial herbicide (Basta) containing phosphinothricin (PPT). We have obtained so far 92 Hgr and 170 PPTr IR72 plants from protoplasts through selection. 31 Hgr and 70 PPTr plants are being grown in the greenhouse to maturity. Data from Southern analysis and enzyme assays proved that the transgene was stably integrated into the host genome and expressed. Transgenic plants showed complete resistance to high doses of the commercial formulations of PPT.

Structure and expression of kin2, one of two cold- and ABA-induced genes of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Abstract: We report the isolation of the second member, kin2, of a family of two cold-inducible genes of Arabidopsis thaliana. The proteins corresponding to the two genes have similarities to the small antifreeze proteins from Winter flounder. Kin1 and kin2 are organized in a close tandem array in the genome of a. thaliana. Both have three exons separated by introns with approximately the same length and location. The coding regions are highly conserved while the introns and especially the 3′ flanking sequences of the mRNAs have diverged. The kin1 and kin2 genes are coordinately regulated in the cold. Unlike kin1, the kin2 mRNA has a detectable basal level, and accumulates to a higher level during acclimation. Both mRNAs are induced by 10 μM ABA but only kin2 responds strongly to drought and salinity stresses.

Microprojectile bombardment of plant tissues increases transformation frequency by Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

Abstract: Bombardment of plant tissues with microprojectiles in an effective method of wounding to promote Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. Tobacco cv. Xanthi leaves and sunflower apical meristems were wounded by microprojectile bombardment prior to application of Agrobacterium tumefaciens strains containing genes within the T-DNA encoding GUS or NPTII. Stable kanamycin-resistant tobacco transformants were obtained using an NPTII construct from particle/plasmid, particle-wounded/Agrobacterium-treated or scalpel-wounded/Agrobacterium-treated potato leaves. Those leaves bombarded with particles suspended in TE buffer prior to Agrobacterium treatment produced at least 100 times more kanamycin-resistant colonies than leaves treated by the standard particle gun transformation protocol. In addition, large sectors of GUS expression, indicative of meristem cell transformation, were observed in plants recovered from sunflower apical explants only when the meristems were wounded first by particle bombardment prior to Agrobacterium treatment. Similar results in two different tissue types suggest that (1) particles may be used as a wounding mechanism to enhance Agrobacterium transformation frequencies, and (2) Agrobacterium mediation of stable transformation is more efficient than the analogous particle/plasmid protocol.

Salt-inducible betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase from sugar beet: cDNA cloning and expression.

Abstract: Members of the Chenopodiaceae, such as sugar beet and spinach, accumulate glycine betaine in response to salinity or drought stress. The last enzyme in the glycine betaine biosynthetic pathway is betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH). In sugar beet the activity of BADH was found to increase two- to four-fold in both leaves and roots as the NaCl level in the irrigation solution was raised from 0 to 500 mM. This increase in BADH activity was paralleled by an increase in level of translatable BADH mRNA. Several cDNAs encoding BADH were cloned from a λgt10 libary representing poly(A)+ RNA from salinized leaves of sugar beet plants, by hybridization with a spinach BADH cDNA. Three nearly full-length cDNA clones were confirmed to encode BADH by their nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequence identity to spinach BADH; these clones showed minor nucleotide sequence differences consistent with their being of two different BADH alleles. The clones averaged 1.7 kb and contained an open reading frame predicting a polypeptide of 500 amino acids with 83% identity to spinach BADH. RNA gel blot analysis of total RNA showed that salinization to 500 mM NaCl increased BADH mRNA levels four-fold in leaves and three-fold in the taproot. DNA gel blot analyses indicated the presence of at least two copies of BADH in the haploid sugar beet genome.

Accumulation of wound-inducible ACC synthase transcript in tomato fruit is inhibited by salicylic acid and polyamines.

Abstract: Regulation of wound-inducible 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) synthase expression was studied in tomato fruit (Lycopersicon esculentum cv. Pik-Red). A 70 base oligonucleotide probe homologous to published ACC synthase cDNA sequences was successfully used to identify and analyze regulation of a wound-inducible transcript. The 1.8 kb ACC synthase transcript increased upon wounding the fruit as well as during fruit ripening. Salicylic acid, an inhibitor of wound-responsive genes in tomato, inhibited the wound-induced accumulation of the ACC synthase transcript. Further, polyamines (putrescine, spermidine and spermine) that have anti-senescence properties and have been shown to inhibit the development of ACC synthase activity, inhibited the accumulation of the wound-inducible ACC synthase transcript. The inhibition by spermine was greater than that caused by putrescine or spermidine. The transcript level of a wound-repressible glycine-rich protein gene and that of the constitutively expressed rRNA were not affected as markedly by either salicylic acid or polyamines. These data suggest that salicylic acid and polyamines may specifically regulate ethylene biosynthesis at the level of ACC synthase transcript accumulation.

The molecular biology of disease resistance.

Abstract: Plants have evolved with pathogens and insect pests for millions of years. It is therefore not surprising that a particular plant is resistant to most of them. When certain environmental conditions exist, however, virulent pathogens can cause damage to plant tissues both in the field and in storage. Indeed, modern intensive agriculture has often exacerbated the occurrence of disease outbreaks by presenting the pest with an intense monoculture of genetically identical plants grown in close proximity under high water and fertilizer regimes. Plant pathologists and entomologists are faced with the job of preventing economic losses in these contrived situations. Historically, the most desirable and effective strategy has been the incorporation of disease resistance genes into commercially acceptable cultivars. In the past ten years, the tools of molecular biology have been applied to the study of the mechanisms accounting for disease resistance.

T-DNA insertional mutagenesis in Arabidopsis.

Abstract: T-DNA insertion mutagenesis is one of those recently developed genetic techniques which can be expected to have a major impact in plant molecular biology [17, 50, 87]. Unlike conventional reviews, this brief outlook intends to give a practical insight into current problems and future applications of T-DNA tagging by underlining the potential of the genetic approach in studies of plant development.

Transformation and inheritance of a hygromycin phosphotransferase gene in maize plants

Abstract: Embryogenic maize (Zea mays L.) callus cultures were transformed by microprojectile bombardment with a chimeric hygromycin phosphotransferase (HPT) gene and three transformed lines were obtained by selecting for hygromycin resistance. All lines contained one or a few copies of the intact HPT coding sequence. Fertile, transgenic plants were regenerated and the transmission of the chimeric gene was demonstrated through two complete generations. One line inherited the gene in the manner expected for a single, dominant locus, whereas two did not.

The search for the proteinase inhibitor-inducing factor, PIIF

Abstract: Research into the structure and function of proteinase Inhibitors I and II proteins in organs and tissues of several solanaceous plants began with the discovery and crystallization of Inhibitor I from Russet Burbank potato tubers in 1962 [1]. This was later followed by the isolation and characterization of Inhibitor II from potato tubers [2]. Inhibitor I and II are serine proteinase inhibitors that have evolved as members of two nonhomologous gene families. Inhibitor I proteins have a molecular mass of about 8000 kDa, whereas Inhibitor II proteins have a M r of about 12 000 kDa. Inhibitor I is a potent inhibitor of chymotrypsin, while Inhibitor II is a ‘double-headed’ inhibitor, having evolved by gene duplicated-elongation events from a smaller ancestral gene, and it possesses two reactive sites that are specific for trypsin and chymotrypsin respectively.

Characterization of a stress-induced, developmentally regulated gene family from soybean

Abstract: We describe a family of stress-induced, developmentally regulated soybean genes for which cDNAs have been obtained from two different cultivars (Glycine max cv. Mandarin and Glycine max cv. Williams). The mRNAs corresponding to these cDNAs, called SAM22 and H4, respectively, accumulate predominantly in the roots of soybean seedlings but are present at high levels in the roots and leaves of mature plants. SAM22 accumulation is especially dramatic in senescent leaves. In addition, SAM22 accumulation can be induced in young leaves by wounding or by transpiration-mediated uptake of salicylic acid, methyl viologen, fungal elicitor, hydrogen peroxide or sodium phosphate (pH 6.9). Taken together, these data indicate that the genes corresponding to SAM22 and H4 are induced by various stresses and developmental cues. Southern blot analysis indicates that multiple copies of sequences related to SAM22 exist in the soybean genome. We also show that the nucleotide sequences of the cDNAs corresponding to SAM22 and H4 are 86% identical at the nucleotide level to each other and 70% identical at the amino acid level to the ‘disease resistance response proteins’ of Pisum sativum.

Developmental and organ-specific expression of an ABA- and stress-induced protein in barley.

Abstract: An mRNA species, HVA1, has been shown to be rapidly induced by abscisic acid (ABA) in barley aleurone layers (Hong, Uknes and Ho, Plant Mol Biol 11: 495-506, 1988). In the current work we have investigated the expression of HVA1 in other organs of barley plants. In developing seeds, HVA1 mRNA is not detected in starchy endosperm cells, yet it accumulates in aleurone layers and embryo starting 25 days after anthesis, and its level remains high in these organs in dry seeds. Although the levels of HVA1 mRNA are equivalent in the dry embryos of dormant and nondormant barley seeds, upon imbibition HVA1 mRNA declines much slower in the dormant than in the nondormant embryos. The HVA1 mRNA and protein levels are highly induced by ABA treatment in all organs of 3-day-old seedlings. However, the induction in the leaf of 7-day-old seedlings is less than one tenth the level observed in the leaf of 3-day-old seedlings. In the leaf, HVA1 mRNA and protein are induced mainly at the base. These observations indicate that the expression of HVA1 is under developmental regulation. Besides the HVA1 protein, a smaller protein (p20) of approximately 20 kDa cross-reacting with anti-HVA1 polyclonal antibodies, is induced by ABA in barley seedlings but not in seeds. HVA1 mRNA is induced by drought, NaCl, cold or heat treatment. Similar to ABA treatment, the drought induction of HVA1 occurs in all the tissues of 3-day-old seedlings, but the induction decreases dramatically in the leaf of 7-day-old plants. The significance of organ-specific, developmentally regulated, and stress-induced expression of HVA1 is discussed.

The biochemistry and molecular biology of plant lipid biosynthesis

Abstract: In the areas of cell biology, biophysics and the biochemistry of signal perception and transduction major advances have come about from an appreciation of the importance of biological membranes. Such membranes not only provide a barrier to the outside of the cell but also define the limits of subcellular organelles contained within them. Subcellular organelles have been fractionated and biochemical compartmentalization of enzyme function deduced by classical work of de Duve and colleagues [16]. Initial electron microscopy observations concentrated on the lipid bilayer description of a biological membrane [18]. Subsequent studies by Singer and Nicholson [114] have led to an appreciation of the importance of the proteins in membranes resulting in the fluid mosaic model. The importance of biological membranes has been additionally highlighted with the development of the chemiosmotic hypothesis of energy generation in biological systems.

Segregation of transgenes in maize.

Abstract: Progeny recovered from backcrossed transgenic maize tissue culture regenerants (R0) were analyzed to determine the segregation, expression, and stability of the introduced genes. Transgenic A188×B73 R0 plants (regenerated from embryogenic suspension culture cells transformed by microprojectile bombardment; see [9]) were pollinated with nontransformed B73 pollen. Inheritance of a selectable marker gene, bar, and a nonselectable marker gene, uidA, was analyzed in progeny (R1) representing four independent transformation events. Activity of the bar gene product, phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (PAT), was assessed in plants comprising the four R1 populations. The number of R1 plants containing PAT activity per total number of R1 plants recovered for each population was 2/7, 19/34, 3/14 and 73/73. Molecular analysis confirmed the segregation of bar in three R1 populations and the lack of segregation in one R1 population. Cosegregation analysis indicated genetic linkage of bar and uidA in all four R1 populations. Analysis of numerous R2 plants derived from crossing transformed R1 plants with nontransformed inbreds revealed 1:1 segregation of PAT activity in three of four lines, including the line that failed to segregate in the R1 generation. Integrated copies of bar in one line appeared to be unstable or poorly transmitted.

Developmental and environmental concurrent expression of sunflower dry-seed-stored low-molecular-weight heat-shock protein and Lea mRNAs.

Abstract: We have cloned and sequenced three different cDNAs from sunflower seed-stored mRNA. Sequence similarities and response to heat-shock identified one of the cDNAs as a low-molecular-weight heat-shock protein (lmw-HSP). The other two clones showed significant sequence similarity to the cotton and carrot late-embryogenesis-abundant (Lea) proteins D-113 and Emb-1, respectively. The three cDNAs showed similar expression patterns during zygotic embryo development, as well as in vegetative tissues of 3-day-old seedlings in response to stress. Maximal accumulation of all three mRNAs was detected in dry seeds and during embryo mid-maturation stage, in the absence of exogenous stress. In seedlings, mRNAs accumulated to lower levels in response to osmotic stress and exogenous abscisic acid (ABA) treatments. A differential time course of response to osmotic stress was observed: lmw-HSP mRNA accumulation was induced earlier than that of Lea mRNAs. The coordinate accumulation of Lea and lmw-HSP transcripts during embryo development and in response to stress and ABA suggests the existence of common regulatory elements for Lea and lmw-HSP genes, and supports the notion that HSPs might have alternative functions in the plant cell.

The isolation and characterisation of the tapetum-specific Arabidopsis thaliana A9 gene.

Abstract: The Brassica napus cDNA clone A9 and the corresponding Arabidopsis thaliana gene have been sequenced. The B. napus cDNA and the A. thaliana gene encode proteins that are 73% identical and are predicted to be 10.3 kDa and 11.6 kDa in size respectively. Fusions of an RNase gene and the reporter gene β-glucuronidase to the A. thaliana A9 promoter demonstrated that in tobacco the A9 promoter is active solely in tapetal cells. Promoter activity is first detectable in anthers prior to sporogenous cell meiosis and ceases during microspore premitotic interphase. The deduced A9 protein sequence has a pattern of cysteine residues that is present in a superfamily of seed plant proteins which contains seed storage proteins and several protease and α-amylase inhibitors.

Iron induces ferritin synthesis in maize plantlets.

Abstract: The iron-storage protein ferritin has been purified to homogeneity from maize seeds, allowing to determine the sequence of the first 29 NH2-terminal amino acids of its subunit and to raise specific rabbit polyclonal antibodies. Addition of 500 μM Fe-EDTA/75 μM Fe-citrate to hydroponic culture solutions of maize plantlets, previously starved for iron, led to a significant increase of the iron concentration of roots and leaves, albeit root iron was mainly found associated with the apoplast. Immunodetection of ferritin by western blots indicated that this iron treatment induced ferritin protein accumulation in roots and leaves over a period of 3 days. In order to investigate this induction at the ferritin mRNA level, various ferritin cDNA clones were isolated from a cDNA library prepared from poly(A)+ mRNA isolated from roots 48 h after iron treatment. These cDNAs were classified into two groups called FM1 and FM2. Upstream of the sequence encoding the mature ferritin subunit, both of these cDNAs contained an in-frame coding sequence with the characteristics of a transit peptide for plastid targeting. Two members of the FM1 subfamily, both partial at their 5′ extremity, were characterized. They are identical, except in their 3′ untranslated region: FM1A extends 162 nucleotides beyond the 3′ terminus of FM1B. These two mRNAs could arise from the use of two different polyadenylation signals. FM2 is 96% identical to FM1 and contains 45 nucleotides of 5′ untranslated region. Northern analyses of root and leaf RNAs, at different times after iron treatment, revealed ferritin mRNA accumulation in response to iron. Ferritin mRNA accumulation was transient and particularly abundant in leaves, reaching a maximum at 24 h. The level of ferritin mRNA in roots was affected to a lesser extent than in leaves.