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Title: CLONING AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A PAPAYA SUPERMAN ORTHOLOG

Author
item ACKERMAN, CHRISTINE - HI AG RES CNT
item YU, QINGYI - HI AG RES CNT
item Moore, Paul
item PAULL, ROBERT - UNIV OF HAWAII
item STEIGER, DENISE - HI AG RES CNT
item MING, RAY - HI AG RES CNT

Submitted to: Plant Biology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/10/2004
Publication Date: 7/25/2004
Citation: Ackerman, C.M., Yu, Q., Moore, P.H., Paull, R.E., Steiger, D.L., Ming, R. 2004. Cloning and characterization of a papaya superman ortholog. Plant Biology 2004: P349. 2004.

Interpretive Summary: Abstract only.

Technical Abstract: The floral regulatory gene SUPERMAN (SUP) is reported to be an upstream negative regulator of the B function organ-identity genes, acting in the forth whorl to establish a boundary between stamen and carpel whorls. The role of SUP in dioecious flowers is unknown. Papaya has male, female, and hermaphrodite flowers and is an ideal model system to test the function of SUP in all three types of flowers. The Arabidopsis thaliana SUP (AtSUP) gene was used to screen a papaya BAC library. Positive BAC clones were placed into one of four groups based on the fragment size showing homology to the AtSUP gene. The four fragment sizes were 1.2K, 2.5K, 3.5K and 4.0K. A single BAC clone from each group was sub-cloned into the pPCR-Script Amp vector using Hind III digested fragments. The positive sub-clones, confirmed by Southern hybridization, were sequenced through primer walking. Sequence analysis revealed that the 3.5K positive fragment BAC clone encodes a protein similar to that encoded by the entire coding region of the Arabidopsis thaliana SUP gene. At the protein level, the papaya SUP ortholog, PSUP, shares 43% identity and 52% similarity with Arabidopsis thaliana SUP gene. The 1.2K positive fragment BAC clone shares greatest similarity to an Oryza sativa zinc finger protein. The 2.5K positive fragment BAC clone shares greatest similarity to an Arabidopsis thaliana SUP-like protein. The 4.0K positive fragment BAC clone shares greatest similarity to an Arabidopsis thaliana zinc finger protein. Functional analysis of the PSUP is under way using RT-PCR and in situ hybridization.