Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: EC:3.2.1.31 (beta-glucuronidase)
 7,680 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Despite the fact that Arabidopsis is largely self-pollinating, its flowers emit a complex mixture of terpene volatiles consisting predominantly of a large group of over 20 sesquiterpenes. Here we report that only two terpene synthases, encoded by the florally expressed genes At5g23960 and At5g44630, are responsible for the formation of virtually all sesquiterpenes found in the Arabidopsis floral volatile blend. Two independent mutant lines with T-DNA insertions in the previously identified At5g23960 gene lacked the emission of three sesquiterpenes, including the main sesquiterpene volatile (E)-beta-caryophyllene, confirming the previous in vitro functional assignment for this gene. Flowers of a mutant line carrying a T-DNA insertion in gene At5g44630 emitted these three sesquiterpenes, but did not emit any of the remaining sesquiterpene volatiles. An At5g44630 cDNA was expressed in Escherichia coli and the produced protein catalyzed the conversion of farnesyl diphosphate into over 15 sesquiterpenes in similar proportions to those found in the floral volatile blend. At5g23960 and At5g44630 promoter-beta-glucuronidase (GUS) fusion experiments demonstrated that both genes are expressed in several parts of the Arabidopsis flower, with strong At5g23960 promoter-GUS activity in the stigma and strong expression of At5g44630 in intrafloral nectaries. Given the previously reported antimicrobial activity of terpenes, their production in stigmas and nectaries may serve to inhibit microbial infection at these vulnerable sites. A survey of 37 Arabidopsis thaliana ecotypes revealed quantitative, but almost no qualitative, variations of floral monoterpene and sesquiterpene emissions suggesting that floral terpene volatiles must play some significant role in the life of the Arabidopsis plant.
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PMID:Two sesquiterpene synthases are responsible for the complex mixture of sesquiterpenes emitted from Arabidopsis flowers. 1591 88

The Sec14 protein (Sec14p) and its homologs are involved in the transfer of phosphatidylinositol/phosphatidylcholine phospholipids in eukaryotic cells. In the completely sequenced genome of Arabidopsis thaliana, multiple genes encoding putative Sec14p homologs have been predicted based on bioinformatic analysis. Here we report the identification of two yeast Sec14-like genes (designated as AtSFH3 and AtSFH12, respectively) that are predominately transcribed in Arabidopsis flowers. The deduced amino acid sequences of AtSfh3p and AtSfh12p exhibited high similarity to that of Sec14p. Ectopic expression of AtSfh3p or AtSfh12p corrected the high temperature sensitive phenotype caused by Sec14p functional deficiency in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, indicating that the two plant homologs are functional in the intracellular environment. AtSFH3 transcripts were detected in flowers, stems and immature siliques but not roots and leaves, with a relatively higher transcript level in the flowers. In contrast, AtSFH12 transcripts were only detectable in the flowers. Based on histochemical staining of beta-glucuronidase (GUS) activities in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants harboring promoter::GUS constructs, AtSFH3 transcription was first detected in the stigma papillae of the flowers at stage 11, and then in the pollen grains before and after fertilization. On the other hand, AtSFH12 transcription was only found in the mature and germinating pollen grains. The information from this study may provide useful clue for further analysis of the function of plant Sec14p homologs in the development of the male gametic cells and/or the fertilization process in higher plants.
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PMID:Identification of two phosphatidylinositol/phosphatidylcholine transfer protein genes that are predominately transcribed in the flowers of Arabidopsis thaliana. 1669 77

To gain a better understanding of the regulatory mechanism of plant metallothionein (MT) genes, a chimeric expression unit consisting of the beta-glucuronidase (gusA) reporter gene under the control of a 1,324 bp fragment of the rice MT (ricMT) promoter was introduced into Arabidopsis via Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The strongest histochemical staining for GUS activity was observed in the cotyledons and hypocotyls of the transgenic seedlings and in the stigma, filaments and anthers of young and mature flowers, and especially in the wounded tissues of transgenic plants. In contrast, a relatively low level of reporter gene expression was seen in the young roots of transgenic seedlings and no GUS activity was detected in the stems, seeds and leaves, but GUS activity was observed in cotyledons and the first two true leaves. Promoter analysis of 5' deletions further identified several important regions responsible for organ-specific expression including roots, flowers and wound induction, light and ABA, Cu and Zn responses. These findings demonstrate that a 1,324 bp fragment of the rice MT promoter performs a complicated transcriptional regulation with clearly functional regions in a model plant, and provide an important insight into the transcriptional regulation mechanisms that operate the temporal- and spatial-specific expression and stress responses of the rice MT gene. These results suggest that the ricMT promoter and its functional regions are potentially useful in genetic engineering of plants to express the desired genes whose products are preferentially needed in roots, flowers and wound induction.
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PMID:The GUS reporter-aided analysis of the promoter activities of a rice metallothionein gene reveals different regulatory regions responsible for tissue-specific and inducible expression in transgenic Arabidopsis. 1714 14

A fast neutron-mutagenized population of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) Columbia-0 wild-type plants was screened for floral phenotypes and a novel mutant, termed hawaiian skirt (hws), was identified that failed to shed its reproductive organs. The mutation is the consequence of a 28 bp deletion that introduces a premature amber termination codon into the open reading frame of a putative F-box protein (At3g61590). The most striking anatomical characteristic of hws plants is seen in flowers where individual sepals are fused along the lower part of their margins. Crossing of the abscission marker, Pro(PGAZAT):beta-glucuronidase, into the mutant reveals that while floral organs are retained it is not the consequence of a failure of abscission zone cells to differentiate. Anatomical analysis indicates that the fusion of sepal margins precludes shedding even though abscission, albeit delayed, does occur. Spatial and temporal characterization, using Pro(HWS):beta-glucuronidase or Pro(HWS):green fluorescent protein fusions, has identified HWS expression to be restricted to the stele and lateral root cap, cotyledonary margins, tip of the stigma, pollen, abscission zones, and developing seeds. Comparative phenotypic analyses performed on the hws mutant, Columbia-0 wild type, and Pro(35S):HWS ectopically expressing lines has revealed that loss of HWS results in greater growth of both aerial and below-ground organs while overexpressing the gene brings about a converse effect. These observations are consistent with HWS playing an important role in regulating plant growth and development.
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PMID:Hawaiian skirt: an F-box gene that regulates organ fusion and growth in Arabidopsis. 1749 13

Plant thioredoxins (TRXs) are involved in redox regulation of a wide variety processes and usually exhibit organ specificity. We report strong evidence that chloroplastic TRXs are localized in heterotrophic tissues and suggest some ways in which they might participate in several metabolic and developmental processes. The promoter regions of the chloroplastic f and m1 TRX genes were isolated from a pea (Pisum sativum) plant genomic bank. Histochemical staining for beta-glucuronidase (GUS) in transgenic homozygous Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants showed preferential expression of the 444-bp PsTRXf1 promoter in early seedlings, stems, leaves, and roots, as well as in flowers, stigma, pollen grains, and filaments. GUS activity under the control of the 1,874-bp PsTRXm1 promoter was restricted to the leaves, roots, seeds, and flowers. To gain insight into the translational regulation of these genes, a series of deletions of 5' elements in both TRX promoters were analyzed. The results revealed that a 126-bp construct of the PsTRXf2 promoter was unable to reproduce the expression pattern observed with the full promoter. The differences in expression and tissue specificity between PsTRXm1 and the deleted promoters PsTRXm2 and PsTRXm3 suggest the existence of upstream positive or negative regulatory regions that affect tissue specificity, sucrose metabolism, and light regulation. PsTRXm1 expression is finely regulated by light and possibly by other metabolic factors. In situ hybridization experiments confirmed new localizations of these chloroplastic TRX transcripts in vascular tissues and flowers, and therefore suggest possible new functions in heterotrophic tissues related to cell division, germination, and plant reproduction.
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PMID:Localization in roots and flowers of pea chloroplastic thioredoxin f and thioredoxin m proteins reveals new roles in nonphotosynthetic organs. 1788 84

In response to wounding and pathogens, jasmonate (JA) serves as a signal molecule for both induction and repression of gene expression. To examine defense-regulated gene repression in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), we have identified a nonclassical arabinogalactan protein (AGP) gene, AGP31, and show that its mRNA decreased to about 30% of its original level within 8 h in response to methyl JA (MeJA) treatment of whole 7-d-old seedlings. Wounding and abscisic acid treatment had similar effects. MeJA suppression primarily depends on the action of the JA-signaling protein, COI1, as shown by much lower MeJA suppression in coi1-1 mutant plants. The main mechanism of mRNA suppression by MeJA is repression of transcription, as shown by nuclear run-on experiments. The AGP31 protein shares features with several known and putative nonclassical AGPs from other species: a putative signal peptide, a histidine-rich region near the N terminus followed by a repetitive proline-rich domain, and a cysteine-rich C-terminal PAC (for proline-rich protein and AGP, containing cysteine) domain. Positive Yariv reagent interaction demonstrated that the protein is an AGP. Monosaccharide analysis of purified AGP31 indicated it is a galactose-rich AGP. Expression of an AGP31-enhanced green fluorescent protein fusion protein in transgenic cells revealed that the AGP31 protein was localized to the cell wall. AGP31 promoter-beta-glucuronidase reporter gene analysis showed expression in the vascular bundle throughout the plant, except in the flower. In the flower, beta-glucuronidase staining occurred throughout the pistil, except in the stigma. The strong preferential expression in vascular tissues suggests that AGP31 may be involved in vascular tissue function during both the defense response and development.
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PMID:A nonclassical arabinogalactan protein gene highly expressed in vascular tissues, AGP31, is transcriptionally repressed by methyl jasmonic acid in Arabidopsis. 1788 91

Soybean transformation by ovary-drip was improved by optimizing the length of the transformation pathway by cutting the styles. These modifications facilitated soybean transformation manipulation and improved transformation reproducibility and efficiency. Using a linear minimal gus gene cassette as the foreign DNA, a maximum transformation frequency of 11% was obtained in flowers of the soybean cultivar 'Liaodou 14' with their styles mostly removed, whereas removal of only the stigma, partial style cutting and partial ovary cutting gave transformation frequencies of 0%, 1%, and 2%, respectively. An average transformation frequency of 8.2% was obtained when 619 flowers from three soybean cultivars ('Liaodou 14', 'Liaodou 13', and 'Tiefeng 29') were transformed by this optimized method. Southern blotting analysis showed that the gus reporter gene (encoding beta-glucuronidase) was stably inherited with a simple pattern. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and GUS staining confirmed the expression of the gus gene in transgenic plants.
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PMID:Optimization of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) in planta ovary transformation using a linear minimal gus gene cassette. 1994 50

During compatible pollination of the angiosperms, pollen tubes grow in the pistil transmitting tract (TT) and are guided to the ovule for fertilization. Lily (Lilium longiflorum) stigma/style Cys-rich adhesin (SCA), a plant lipid transfer protein (LTP), is a small, secreted peptide involved in pollen tube adhesion-mediated guidance. Here, we used a reverse genetic approach to study biological roles of Arabidopsis thaliana LTP5, a SCA-like LTP. The T-DNA insertional gain-of-function mutant plant for LTP5 (ltp5-1) exhibited ballooned pollen tubes, delayed pollen tube growth, and decreased numbers of fertilized eggs. Our reciprocal cross-pollination study revealed that ltp5-1 results in both male and female partial sterility. RT-PCR and beta-glucuronidase analyses showed that LTP5 is present in pollen and the pistil TT in low levels. Pollen-targeted overexpression of either ltp5-1 or wild-type LTP5 resulted in defects in polar tip growth of pollen tubes and thereby decreased seed set, suggesting that mutant ltp5-1 acts as a dominant-active form of wild-type LTP5 in pollen tube growth. The ltp5-1 protein has additional hydrophobic C-terminal sequences, compared with LTP5. In our structural homology/molecular dynamics modeling, Tyr-91 in ltp5-1, replacing Val-91 in LTP5, was predicted to interact with Arg-45 and Tyr-81, which are known to interact with a lipid ligand in maize (Zea mays) LTP. Thus, Arabidopsis LTP5 plays a significant role in reproduction.
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PMID:A gain-of-function mutation of Arabidopsis lipid transfer protein 5 disturbs pollen tube tip growth and fertilization. 2004 38


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