title: Sequence and expression characteristics of a nuclear-encoded chloroplast sigma factor from mustard (Sinapis alba).
abstract: Plant chloroplasts contain transcription factors that functionally resemble bacterial sigma factors. We have cloned the full-length cDNA from mustard (Sinapis alba) for a 53 kDa derived polypeptide that contains similarity to regions 1.2-4.2 of sigma70-type factors. The amino acid sequence at the N-terminus has characteristics of a chloroplast transit peptide. An in vitro synthesized polypeptide containing this region was shown to be imported into the chloroplast and processed. The recombinant factor lacking the N-terminal extension was expressed in Escherichia coli and purified. It confers the ability on E.coli core RNA polymerase to bind specifically to a DNA fragment that contains the chloroplast psbA promoter. Transcription of the psbA template by E.coli core enzyme in the presence of recombinant SIG1 results in enhanced formation of transcripts of the size expected for correct initiation at the in vivo start site. Together, these data suggest that the mature protein acts as one of the chloroplast transcription factors in mustard. RNA gel blot hybridization reveals a transcript at approximately 1.8 kb, which is more abundant in light-grown than in dark-grown mustard seedlings.
authors.affiliation: Plant Cell Physiology and Molecular Biology, University of Bochum, D-44780 Bochum, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kestermann
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Neukirchen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kloppstech
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Link
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D015152:Blotting, Northern; D002736:Chloroplasts / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D015870:Gene Expression; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009149:Mustard Plant / Q000235:genetics; D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D045332:Photosystem II Protein Complex; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D011401:Promoter Regions, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012808:Sigma Factor / Q000235:genetics*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D045322:Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins; D045332:Photosystem II Protein Complex; D010940:Plant Proteins; D012808:Sigma Factor; C113096:sigma factor Sig1