Molecular characterization of plastid pyruvate kinase from castor and tobacco.

Clones encoding two different forms of plastid pyruvate kinase (PKp; EC 2.7.1.40) have been isolated from both castor and tobacco seed cDNA libraries. One form, designated PKpA, from castor was described in a previous report, and the tobacco homologue of PKpA has now been isolated. In addition, a second cDNA, designated PKpG, has been identified and sequenced in both species. Western blot analysis, using antibodies raised against protein overexpressed from these clones, indicates that they encode the two predominant polypeptides of plastid pyruvate kinase from developing castor endosperm. In castor, both PKpA and PKpG are encoded by single genes. In the allotetraploid Nicotiana tabacum, there are two copies of each, one derived from each of the progenitors of this species. The expression of the genes for PKpA and PKpG was examined in various tissues from both castor and tobacco. In castor, both forms are expressed in developing and germinating endosperm and in the root but neither is expressed in the leaf. In tobacco, both forms are expressed in developing seeds but in mature tissues, PKpA is most abundant in roots and PKpG in leaves.

T-DNA tagging of a seed coat-specific cryptic promoter in tobacco.

T-DNA tagging with a promoterless beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene generated a transgenic Nicotiana tabacum plant that expressed GUS activity only in developing seed coats. Cloning and deletion analysis of the GUS fusion revealed that the promoter responsible for seed coat specificity was located in the plant DNA proximal to the GUS gene. A 3.3 kb fragment corresponding to the insertion site was isolated from untransformed plants. No long open reading frames were detected in this region. Northern blots and RNase protection assays failed to detect transcripts from this region in untransformed plants. Furthermore, the insertion site was situated within the N. tomentosiformis genome of the allotetraploid species N. tabacum, in a region which is not conserved within the genus Nicotiana. It is concluded that seed coat-specific GUS expression in this transgenic plant resulted from T-DNA insertion next to a cryptic promoter. These results suggest that at least some of the fusions generated to marker genes in promoter trapping studies are not associated with conventional gene promoters. The possibility that similar insertion events play a role in gene evolution is discussed.

Normal growth of transgenic tobacco plants in the absence of cytosolic pyruvate kinase.

The coding sequence of the cytosolic isozyme of potato tuber pyruvate kinase (PK) was attached to the transit peptide of the small subunit of pea ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase oxygenase and placed under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. This construct was transformed into Nicotiana tabacum. Unexpectedly, two primary transformants were recovered in which PK activity in leaves was greatly reduced. The reduction in PK activity appeared to result from the complete absence of the cytosolic form of the enzyme (PK(c)). In addition, no PK(c) could be detected on western blots of leaf extracts. Metabolite analyses indicated that the levels of phosphoenolpyruvate are substantially higher in PK(c)-deficient leaves than in wild-type leaves, consistent with a block in glycolysis at the step catalyzed by PK. PK(c) deficiency in the leaves does not appear to adversely affect plant growth. Analysis of progeny indicates that PK(c) deficiency is a heritable trait. The leaves of PK(c)-deficient transformants have normal rates of photosynthetic O(2) evolution and respiratory O(2) consumption, indicating that these plants are using alternative pathways to bypass PK.

Structure of the 5S rRNA genes in birch (Betula papyrifera) and alder (Alnus incana).

Hybridization of a 5S rDNA probe to Southern transfers of birch (Betula papyrifera) or alder (Alnus incana) DNA digested with BamH1 reveals similar triple-band "ladder-like" patterns. The sizes of sequenced 5S repeat units from both plants ranges only from 471 to 490 base pairs, suggesting that the complexity detected by Southern analysis is not due to different size classes of 5S repeats as found in other species. Within the intercistronic spacer region, conservation of large blocks of sequence between birch and alder 5S is observed implying a close evolutionary relationship between these two species. In both species, a duplication of part of the coding sequence including a restriction site for BamH1 introduces a second BamH1 site into the repeat unit. Differential methylation of the two BamHI restriction sites can account for the observed triple-band pattern.

Organization of the 5S rRNA genes in the soybean Glycine max (L.) Merrill and conservation of the 5S rDNA repeat structure in higher plants.

The 5S rRNA gene of the soybean Glycine max (L.) Merr. has been cloned on a 556-bp fragment of DNA and sequenced. This fragment contains two copies of the soybean 5S rDNA sequence, one intact and one truncated, separated by noncoding DNA. We have used this clone to investigate the organization of the 5S genes within the soybean genome and the extent of their methylation. Our results demonstrate that soybean 5S genes are clustered, organized into tandem repeats of 330 bp, and extensively methylated. Hybridization of the 5S sequence to Southern transfers of soybean DNA digested with BamHI reveals a striking ladderlike pattern. Hybridization of the soybean 5S sequence to a wide variety of plant DNAs results in similar patterns, suggesting that the 5S rDNA sequence, gene organization, and methylation pattern are conserved in many higher plants.

The isolation of high-molecular-weight DNA from plants.

A procedure to isolate high-molecular-weight DNA from plant materials has been devised. With this procedure, high-molecular-weight DNA suitable for Southern transfer experiments has been isolated from over 30 plant species including angiosperms (both dicots and monocots), a gymnosperm, members of other divisions, and two microorganisms.