THE CDNA AND GENONIC SEQUENCES OF ATJ3, AN ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA HOMOLOGUE OF SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISIAE YDJ1

Authors: ZHOU, RENGANG - HEBEI ACAD AGR SCI, PRC; KROCZYNSKA, BARBARA - POLISH ACAD SCI, POLAND; Miernyk, Jan

Submitted to: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/24/1999
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The responses of plants to environmental stress are not well understood. Stress, caused by heat, cold, drought, or pathogen attack can significantly reduce crop productivity. Early in the stress response there are changes in the chemical composition of plants. A better understanding of these chemical changes should allow development of new strategies to avoid losses in productivity caused by stress. A sample of plant genetic material that is controlled in response to stress was isolated and studied. The times and locations that the genetic material is expressed were determined. This information will be important in designing crop plants that will be less damaged by environmental stress, including pathogen attack, through plant breeding or biotechnology.

Technical Abstract: A gene related to YDJ1 of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, named ATJ3, and the corresponding cDNA, were cloned from Arabidopsis thaliana, and the nucleotide sequences determined. The structural gene consists of six exons and five introns. The sequences of the intron-exon borders match the criteria for consensus eukaryotic splice junctions. The results of Southern analysis are consistent with the existence of a single unique ATJ3 gene. Translation of ATJ3 yields a protein highly homologous to YDJ1. The J-, G/F, and C-rich domains, characteristic of this class of DnaJ homologues, are all present in ATJ3, as is the C-terminal -Caax farnesylation motif. Northern analyses revealed that the ATJ3 cDNA is constitutively expressed in all tissues.