title: The extensin signal peptide allows secretion of a heterologous protein from protoplasts.
abstract: Extensins are hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins which are amongst the most abundant proteins present in the cell wall of higher plants. Here, we describe the structural analysis of an extensin-encoding gene from Nicotiana plumbaginifolia. The encoded protein (46 kDa) has a highly repetitive structure and contains 37% proline, 18.1% tyrosine, 13.4% lysine, 8.1% serine and 7.1% histidine. The extensin-encoding sequence contains a typical signal peptide for translocation of the protein to the endoplasmic reticulum. By using chimeric genes consisting of different 5' parts of the extensin-encoding gene and the neomycin phosphotransferase II-encoding gene (nptII) as reporter gene, we show that the N-terminal part of extensin can mediate the secretion of NPTII from electroporated N. tabacum protoplasts.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorium voor Genetica Rijksuniversiteit Gent, Belgium.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Loose
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gheysen
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tiré
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gielen
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Villarroel
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Genetello
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Van Montagu
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Depicker
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Inzé
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D017343:Genes, Plant; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D011487:Protein Conformation; D021382:Protein Sorting Signals / Q000235:genetics*; D011523:Protoplasts / Q000378:metabolism; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid; D015183:Restriction Mapping; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D006023:Glycoproteins; D010940:Plant Proteins; D021382:Protein Sorting Signals; C005488:extensin protein, plant