title: Isolation, characterization, and chromosomal mapping of an ftsZ gene from the unicellular primitive red alga Cyanidium caldarium RK-1.
abstract: The FtsZ protein is involved in eukaryote plastid division, but there is little information on its involvement in the plastid-dividing apparatus. To investigate the relationship between FtsZ and the plastid-dividing ring, the ftsZ gene was isolated from the unicellular primitive red alga Cyanidium caldarium RK-1. Comparison of several prokaryotic and eukaryotic FtsZ proteins shows that there are six highly conserved domains in the core region of FtsZ. To determine the chromosomal location of ftsZ, we first determined the electrophoretic karyotype of C. caldarium RK-1. Southern-hybridization analysis combined with CHEF revealed the chromosomes on which the ftsZ gene exist. Northern-hybridization analysis indicated that the C. caldarium RK-1 ftsZ gene is transcribed as a 1.9-kb molecule, and that the transcripts specifically accumulate just before plastid division. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that C. caldarium RK-1 and other eukaryotic ftsZ genes are the descendants of cyanobacterial ftsZ genes, supporting the current agreement that FtsZ is involved in plastid division.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo, Japan. takahara@biol.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahara
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Matsunaga
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sakai
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kawano
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kuroiwa
mesh_terms: D020418:Algal Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; D004247:DNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D018628:Gene Dosage; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D000461:Rhodophyta / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
chemical_list: D020418:Algal Proteins; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D003598:Cytoskeletal Proteins; C095113:FTSZ protein, Arabidopsis; C071525:FtsZ protein, Bacteria; D010940:Plant Proteins; D004247:DNA