DVL, a novel class of small polypeptides: overexpression alters Arabidopsis development

Small polypeptides can act as important regulatory molecules that coordinate cellular responses required for differentiation, growth, and development. In a gain-of-function genetic screen for genes that influence fruit development in Arabidopsis, we identified a novel gene -DEVIL1 (DVL1) - encoding a small protein. Overexpression of DVL1 results in pleiotropic phenotypes featured by shortened stature, rounder rosette leaves, clustered inflorescences, shortened pedicles, and siliques with pronged tips. cDNA analysis indicates that DVL1 has a 153-nucleotide (nt) open-reading frame (ORF) encoding a 51-amino acid polypeptide that shares no significant similarity to previously identified proteins. Sequence alignment shows that DVL1 belongs to a family of related genes that are limited to angiosperm plants. Ectopic overexpression of each of the five closely related Arabidopsis DVL genes causes similar phenotypic changes, suggesting overlapping function in the DVL gene family. Point mutations of conserved amino acids in the C-terminal region of the DVL1 polypeptide reveal that these conserved residues are required for DVL1-overexpression phenotypes. Our results show that the DVL family is a novel class of small polypeptides and the overexpression phenotypes suggest that these polypeptides may have a role in plant development.     

The Arabidopsis CLV3-like (CLE) genes are expressed in diverse tissues and encode secreted proteins

Members of the receptor-like kinase gene family play crucial regulatory roles in many aspects of plant development, but the ligands to which they bind are largely unknown. In Arabidopsis, the receptor kinase CLAVATA1 (CLV1) binds to the small secreted polypeptide CLV3, and three proteins act as key elements of a signal transduction pathway that regulates shoot apical meristem maintenance. To better understand the signal transduction mechanisms involving small polypeptides, we are studying 25 Arabidopsis CLV3/ESR (CLE) proteins that share a conserved C-terminal domain with CLV3 and three maize ESR proteins. Members of the CLE gene family were identified in database searches and only a few are known to be expressed. We have identified an additional member of the CLE gene family in Arabidopsis, which is more similar in gene structure to CLV3 than the other CLE genes. Phylogenetic analysis reveals that few of the putative CLE gene products are closely related, suggesting there may be little functional overlap between them. We show that 24 of the 25 Arabidopsis CLE genes are transcribed in one or more tissues during development, indicating that they do encode functional products. Many are widely expressed, but others are restricted to one or a few tissue types. We have also determined the sub-cellular localization of several CLE proteins, and find that they are exported to the plasma membrane or extracellular space. Our results suggest that the Arabidopsis CLE proteins, like CLV3, may function as secreted signaling molecules that act in diverse pathways during growth and development.     

小麦TaNAC5基因克隆及表达分析

NAC转录因子在植物对非生物逆境胁迫的应答过程中发挥着重要作用。该研究利用RACE技术从小麦中克隆了1个NAC基因TaNAC5(HQ650113.1)。序列分析显示,TaNAC5基因开放阅读框(ORF)924bp,编码307个氨基酸。多序列比对和进化树分析显示,TaNAC5基因所编码的蛋白具有NAC家族蛋白的保守结构域,与玉米ZmNAC5有较近的亲缘关系。实时荧光定量PCR分析显示,TaNAC5基因的表达显著受渗透胁迫、低温胁迫、乙烯和双氧水诱导,而受高盐胁迫和ABA抑制。研究表明,TaNAC5参与非生物逆境胁迫及相关信号分子的应答。