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)

The Arabidopsis thaliana gene CUT1 encodes a very-long-chain fatty acid-condensing enzyme required for the production of epicuticular wax in bolting stems. We have examined the expression pattern of CUT1 in Arabidopsis at different developmental stages and under different environmental conditions. RNA blot analysis showed that CUT1 was highly expressed in shoots, but not in roots. CUT1 expression was detectable throughout development. Light was required for CUT1 expression, and expression was increased by salt and drought treatments. The promoter region of the CUT1 gene was cloned, and 1.2 kb of the sequence 5' to the translation start codon was used to direct beta-glucuronidase (GUS) expression in transgenic plants. Histochemical and fluorometric (quantitative) GUS assays confirmed that the CUT1 promoter directed epidermal-specific expression and was highly active in Arabidopsis and in tobacco. A construct using the CUT1 promoter to drive CUT1 expression (CUT1p-CUT1) was used to transform Arabidopsis. Transgenic plants which had somewhat increased (overexpression) or greatly reduced (co-suppression) wax loads were recovered. Thus, the CUT1 promoter should be useful for genetic engineering applications that require epidermis-specific expression of genes.
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PMID:Expression of the wax-specific condensing enzyme CUT1 in Arabidopsis. 1117 Nov 58

Lesquerella fendleri seed oil contains up to 60% hydroxy fatty acids, nearly all of which is the 20-carbon hydroxy fatty acid lesquerolic acid (D-14-hydroxyeicos-cis-11-enoic acid). Previous work suggested that lesquerolic acid in L. fendleri was formed by the elongation of the 18-carbon hydroxy fatty acid, ricinoleic acid. To identify a gene encoding the enzyme involved in hydroxy fatty acid elongation, an L. fendleri genomic DNA library was screened using the coding region of the Arabidopsis Fatty Acid Elongation1 gene as a probe. A gene, LfKCS3, with a high sequence similarity to known very long-chain fatty acid condensing enzymes, was isolated. LfKCS3 has a 2,062-bp open reading frame interrupted by two introns, which encodes a polypeptide of 496 amino acids. LfKCS3 transcripts accumulated only in the embryos of L. fendleri and first appeared in the early stages of development. Fusion of the LfKCS3 promoter to the uidA reporter gene and expression in transgenic Arabidopsis resulted in a high level of beta-glucuronidase activity exclusively in developing embryos. Seeds of Arabidopsis plants transformed with LfKCS3 showed no change in their very long-chain fatty acid content. However, when these Arabidopsis plants were crossed with the transgenic plants expressing the castor oleate 12-hydroxylase, significant amounts of 20-carbon hydroxy fatty acids accumulated in the seed, indicating that the LfKCS3 condensing enzyme specifically catalyzes elongation of 18-carbon hydroxy fatty acids.
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PMID:A condensing enzyme from the seeds of Lesquerella fendleri that specifically elongates hydroxy fatty acids. 1174 8

To learn more about the role of the CER6 condensing enzyme in Arabidopsis surface wax production, we determined CER6 transcription domains and the timing of CER6 transcription in vegetative and reproductive structures from juvenile, mature, and senescing tissues. We found that CER6 is highly transcribed throughout development, exclusively in the epidermal cells in all tissues examined. The only exception to the epidermal expression was observed in anthers nearing maturity, in which CER6 mRNA was localized in the tapetum. To determine if environmental factors such as light and water deficit, which are known to stimulate wax accumulation, induce CER6 transcription, we examined the effects of these factors on CER6 transcript abundance. Our results demonstrate that light is essential for CER6 transcription, and that osmotic stress and the presence of abscisic acid enhance CER6 transcript accumulation. CER6 promoter-directed expression of the beta-glucuronidase reporter gene in transgenic plants demonstrated that the CER6 promoter was highly effective in directing epidermis-specific expression in Arabidopsis and tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). Furthermore, CER6 promoter-driven CER6 overexpression resulted in increased wax deposition in Arabidopsis stems. These experiments indicate that the expression level of CER6 in the epidermis is one of the factors controlling wax accumulation on Arabidopsis stems.
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PMID:Significance of the expression of the CER6 condensing enzyme for cuticular wax production in Arabidopsis. 1217 69