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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #82349
Title: CLONING OF A NOVEL ENDOSPERM-SPECIFIC PROTEIN WITH PARTIAL SEQUENCE HOMOLOGY TO A POLLEN SURFACE PROTEIN

Author
item CARLSON, SUSAN - UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
item Chourey, Prem

Submitted to: Biochimica et Biophysica Acta
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/22/1997
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: A seed is a unit of crop yield. Sucrose is the major source of carbon skeleton for starch, protein, and oil - the major storage constituents in a seed. Sucrose is also the sole source of energy which is needful for numerous metabolic reactions. The objectives of research scientists of the Agricultural Research Service in Gainesville, FL, is to identify genes which control these diverse processes, in particular, those relating to sucrose metabolism in a developing seed. The present report is on the isolation and characterization of one such gene which is unique, and has not been reported previously in any biological system. The gene is expressed in no other part of the plant but a developing seed (the endosperm). DNA sequence analyses show that certain parts of the gene resemble a gene for pollen protein in alfalfa. The sequence characteristics also suggest that the gene might have certain regulatory functions in a developing seed. Overall, such knowledge is critical in defining the basic metabolic processes which are critical towards obtaining germplasm with increased crop productivity.

Technical Abstract: A gene encoding a novel maize endosperm protein has been cloned and sequenced. The gene encodes a 51 931 Da polypeptide which is 42% identical over two segments of an alfalfa pollen protein sequence. The gene is expressed in developing endosperm tissue, and not in other tissues such as shoot, pollen, or embryo.