title: Characterization of the common bean uricase II and its expression in organs other than nodules.
abstract: Uricase II is a purine metabolic enzyme highly induced in root nodules during the symbiosis established between legumes and bacteria of the genera Rhizobium and Bradyrhizobium. Here we describe the characterization of bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) nodule uricase II cDNA and show that uricase II is encoded by a single gene in the bean genome. This gene is also expressed in cotyledons, roots, and hypocotyls during bean seedling establishment, and an anti-uricase antibody recognizes the protein in different seedling organs. Uricase II has also been found in Leucaena leucocephala seedlings, suggesting that it participates during seedling establishment in legumes that do not transport ureides. A 50-kD polypeptide that is detected by the anti-uricase antibody is found in cotyledons during seedling development. This higher-molecular-mass form is also detected in developing roots and hypocotyls but not in nodules. In situ hybridization experiments in root seedlings showed uricase II transcripts in the metaxylem parenchyma cells and phloem fibers of the vascular system.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biología Molecular de Plantas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Capote-Maínez
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sánchez
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D007887:Fabaceae / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000382:microbiology; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D018546:Hypocotyl; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009928:Organ Specificity; D018517:Plant Roots; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000737:chemistry; D012230:Rhizobiaceae / Q000502:physiology; D012231:Rhizobium / Q000502:physiology; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D014503:Urate Oxidase / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D003313:Zea mays / Q000201:enzymology
chemical_list: D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D014503:Urate Oxidase