Fertilization and wounding of the style induce the expression of a highly conserved plant gene homologous to a Plasmodium falciparum surface antigen in the wild potato Solanum chacoense Bitt.
Pistil tissues are actively involved in pollen tube growth and respond to the presence of the growing pollen tubes by modulating the expression of specific genes. Once fertilization has occurred, complex developmental programs lead to embryogenesis, ovary maturation, and seed set. In order to understand the early events that follow pollination and fertilization we have used a subtractive hybridization approach to characterize genes which are related to pollination and fertilization events. One cDNA clone isolated and named SPP30 (Solanum pollinated pistil) was found to share significant sequence identities with a Plasmodium falciparum (malaria parasite) surface antigen and a yeast gene of unknown function. Searches in recent EST databases also revealed that SPP30 homologues are found in both monocot and dicot species. The presence of this conserved gene in evolutionarily distant organisms such as yeast, Plasmodium, and plants suggests that it codes for an essential cellular function. This is also strengthened by its extremely high sequence conservation in both monocots and dicots where virtually all substitutions tolerated are conservative.
Lantin
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Institut de Recherche en Biologie Végétale, Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, Qc, Canada.
O'Brien
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Matton
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DP
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000953:Antigens, Protozoan / Q000235:genetics*; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000235:genetics*; D001483:Base Sequence; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D018628:Gene Dosage; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000494:pharmacology; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D018514:Plant Structures / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D010963:Plasmodium falciparum / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012098:Reproduction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D011198:Solanum tuberosum / Q000235:genetics*; D013997:Time Factors; D014018:Tissue Distribution
D000953:Antigens, Protozoan; D000954:Antigens, Surface; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D018744:DNA, Plant; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D010940:Plant Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger