Molecular and expression analysis of a LIM protein gene family from flowering plants.
LIM-domain proteins participate in important cellular processes in eukaryotes, including gene transcription and actin cytoskeleton organization. They are predominantly found in animals, but have also been identified in yeast and plants. Following the characterization ofa LIM-domain protein in sunflower pollen, we carried out an extensive search for these proteins in flowering plants. We have isolated and studied cDNAs and/or genomic sequences for two novel LIM-domain proteins from sunflower, three from tobacco, and one from Arabidopsis. The plant proteins are structurally related to the cytoskeleton-associated CRP class of LIM proteins in animals, but show several distinctive features, including a second, atypical, LIM domain. We have performed comparative expression studies of these genes, as well as of one other gene from tobacco and two additional Arabidopsis genes whose sequences are available from databases. These studies, carried out by RT-PCR in the presence of gene-specific primers, showed that, in sunflower and tobacco, pollen grains and sporophytic tissues express different sets of LIM proteins. With the exception of one Arabidopsis gene--which has two introns--all the genes analyzed contain four introns at conserved positions, indicating that the ancestral gene from which the various copies evolved in higher plants allready had this split structure.
Eliasson
A
A
Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes du CNRS, Strasbourg, France.
Gass
N
N
Mundel
C
C
Baltz
R
R
Kräuter
R
R
Evrard
J L
JL
Steinmetz
A
A
D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D001483:Base Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000378:metabolism; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D016208:Databases, Factual; D015723:Gene Library; D006368:Helianthus; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D007438:Introns; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D011058:Pollen / Q000235:genetics; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics
D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; C416644:PLIM1 protein, Arabidopsis; C416646:PLIM2 protein, Magnoliophyta; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D010940:Plant Proteins; C407542:WLIM1 protein, Helianthus annuus; C416645:WLIM2 protein, Magnoliophyta