Characterization of a novel cell cycle-related gene from Arabidopsis

Cell division is a fundamental biological process sharing conserved features and controls in all eukaryotes. The cell cycle is usually divided into four phases: G1, S, G2, and M. Regulated gene expression is an important mechanism for controlling cell cycle progression and genes involved in cell division-related processes often show transcriptional regulation dependent on cell cycle position. In the present report, a novel cell cycle-related gene (AtCPR) from Arabidopsis thaliana was isolated and characterized. Sequence analysis revealed that the deduced amino acid sequence of AtCPR showed 53.2% identity with p38-2G4, a mouse G1-to-S cell cycle specifically modulated and proliferation-associated nuclear protein. Assay of expression of AtCPR in partially synchronized cells suggested that AtCPR mRNA was expressed in the G1-to-S phase. In the AtCPR transgenic plants, no apparent phenotypic change was observed. By fusing a GFP tag to the AtCPR protein, it was found that AtCPR was mainly located in the nucleus. However, AtCPR does not have any transcriptional activation ability. cDNA microarray analysis showed that a total of 17 and 30 genes were identified as up-regulated and down-regulated, respectively.