title: Lotus japonicus gene Ljsbp is highly conserved among plants and animals and encodes a homologue to the mammalian selenium-binding proteins.
abstract: We have isolated and characterized a Lotus japonicus gene (Ljsbp) encoding a putative polypeptide with striking homology to the mammalian 56-kDa selenium-binding protein (SBP). cDNA clones homologous to LjSBP were also isolated from soybean, Medicago sativa, and Arabidopsis thaliana. Comparative expression studies in L japonicus and A. thaliana showed that sbp transcripts are present in various tissues and at different levels. Especially in L japonicus nodules and seedpods and A. thaliana siliques, sbp expression appears to be developmentally up-regulated. sbp Gene transcripts were localized by in situ hybridization in the infected cells and vascular bundles of young nodules, while in mature nodules, low levels of expression were only detected in the parenchymatous cells. Expression of sbp transcripts in young seedpods and siliques was clearly visible in vascular tissues and embryos, while in embryos, low levels of expression were detected in the root epidermis and the vascular bundles. Polyclonal antibodies raised against a truncated LjSBP recombinant protein recognized a polypeptide of about 60 kDa in nodule extracts. Immunohistochemical experiments showed that accumulation of LjSBP occurred in root hairs, in the root epidermis above the nodule primordium, in the phloem of the vasculature, and abundantly in the infected cells of young nodules. Irrespective of the presence of rhizobia, expression of SBP was also observed in root tips, where it was confined in the root epidermis and protophloem cells. We hypothesize that LjSBP may have more than one physiological role and can be implicated in controlling the oxidation/reduction status of target proteins, in vesicular Golgi transport, or both.
authors.affiliation: Agricultural University of Athens, Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, Greece.
authors.forename: Emmanouil
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Flemetakis
authors.forename: Adamantia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Agalou
authors.forename: Nektarios
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kavroulakis
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dimou
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Martsikovskaya
authors.forename: Andrian
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Slater
authors.forename: Herman P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Spaink
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roussis
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Katinakis
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017124:Conserved Sequence / Q000235:genetics; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D017403:In Situ Hybridization; D000070116:Lotus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D008322:Mammals; D029902:Medicago / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D019441:Plant Epidermis / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000378:metabolism / Q000382:microbiology; D012639:Seeds / Q000378:metabolism; D051137:Selenium-Binding Proteins; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D013559:Symbiosis
chemical_list: D002352:Carrier Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D018744:DNA, Plant; D010940:Plant Proteins; D051137:Selenium-Binding Proteins