Control of GL2 expression in Arabidopsis leaves and trichomes.

More than twenty genes are required for the correct initiation, spacing, and morphogenesis of trichomes in Arabidopsis. The initial selection of trichome precursors requires the activity of both the GLABROUS1 (GL1) and TRANSPARENT TESTA GLABROUS (TTG) genes. The GLABRA2 (GL2) gene is required for subsequent phases of trichome morphogenesis such as cell expansion, branching, and maturation of the trichome cell wall. Previous studies have shown that GL2 is a member of the homeodomain class of transcription factors. Here we report a detailed analysis of GL2 expression in the shoot using anti-GL2 antibodies and the GUS reporter gene fused to the GL2 promoter. The GL2 expression profile in the shoot is complex, and involves spatial and temporal variation in developing leaves and trichomes. Two separate promoter domains that are expressed in trichomes were identified. GL2, like GL1, is expressed in developing trichomes and in cells surrounding trichomes during early stages of trichome development. Unlike GL1, GL2 expression persists in mature trichomes. It was found that while GL1 and TTG were not required for the initiation of GL2 expression in the non-trichome cells, the presence of a functional GL1 or TTG gene was able to increase GL2 expression in these cells compared to ttg gl1 plants. The hypothesis that GL1 regulates aspects of GL2 expression is consistent with epistatic analysis of gl1 and gl2 and the expression patterns of GL1 and GL2. In support of this hypothesis, it was found that ectopic expression of GL1 in the presence of ectopic expression of the maize R gene, which can bypass the requirement for TTG, can ectopically activate GL2 transcription.

The organization of the outside end of transposon Tn5.

The end sequences of the IS50 insertion sequence are known as the outside end (OE) and inside end. These complex ends are related but nonidentical 19-bp sequences that serve as substrates for the activity of the Tn5 transposase. Besides providing the binding site of the transposase, the end sequences of a transposon contain additional types of information necessary for transposition. These additional properties include but are not limited to host protein interaction sites and sites that program synapsis and cleavage events. In order to delineate the properties of the IS50 ends,the base pairs involved in the transposase binding site have been defined. This has been approached through performing a variety of in vitro analyses: a ++hydroxyl radical missing-nucleoside interference experiment, a dimethyl sulfate interference experiment, and an examination of the relative binding affinities of single-site end substitutions. These approaches have led to the conclusion that the transposase binds to two nonsymmetrical regions of the OE, including positions 6 to 9 and 13 to 19. Proper binding occurs along one face of the helix, over two major and minor grooves, and appears to result in a significant bending of the DNA centered approximately 3 bp from the donor DNA-OE junction.

Implications of Tn5-associated adjacent deletions.

The prokaryotic transposable element Tn5 has been found to promote the formation of adjacent deletions. The frequency of adjacent deletion formation is much lower than that of normal transposition events. Like normal transposition, however, adjacent deletion formation requires the activity of the transposase protein. The deletions can be divided into two classes, as distinguished by their endpoints. The occurrence of one of the two deletion classes is increased when the frequency of normal transposition is reduced by the introduction of a deletion or a certain base substitution at one of the two outside ends (OEs). The nature of the base substitution at the mutant OE influences the class of deletion found adjacent to the wild-type OE, even though these two ends are about 12 kbp apart. By studying the formation of these deletions, we have gained some insight into the way in which the transposase interacts with the OEs. Our observations suggest that there is a protein-mediated interaction between the two ends, that different end base pairs are involved in different transposition-related processes, and that the adjacent deletions are the result of nonproductive attempts at transposition.