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Dehiscence‐related expression of an Arabidopsis thaliana gene encoding a polygalacturonase in transgenic plants of Brassica napus
Author(s) -
JENKINS E. S.,
PAUL W.,
CRAZE M.,
WHITELAW C. A.,
WEIGAND A.,
ROBERTS J. A.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
plant, cell and environment
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.646
H-Index - 200
eISSN - 1365-3040
pISSN - 0140-7791
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-3040.1999.00372.x
Subject(s) - biology , arabidopsis thaliana , pectinase , brassica , barnase , transgene , botany , gene expression , gene , genetically modified crops , reporter gene , microbiology and biotechnology , genetics , biochemistry , enzyme , ribonuclease , rna , mutant
Pod dehiscence in Arabidopsis thaliana is accompanied by an increase in the expression of a polygalacturonase (PG). The gene encoding this mRNA has been characterized and shown to have extensive homology to a similar PG gene from Brassica napus . The A. thaliana PG promoter was fused to β ‐glucuronidase (GUS) and the expression of this reporter gene analysed in transgenic B. napus plants. The GUS activity was detected throughout the dehiscence zone of pods from 35 d after anthesis and expression was restricted to those cells that undergo cell separation. Expression was also detectable at the junction between the seed and the funicular tissue and in mature anthers of flowers. Transgenic plants containing the PG promoter fused to barnase were sterile as a consequence of the anthers failing to undergo dehiscence. Fertilization of PG‐barnase plants resulted in the development of pods that exhibited a reduced capacity to shatter. The role of PG during cell separation processes in plants is discussed.