title: Structural analysis of a gene cluster encoding DFR-like proteins from rice chromosome 4.
abstract: Sequencing analysis of the 323 kb contig of rice chromosome 4 identified a gene cluster encoding 7 dihydroflavonol-4-reductase (DFR)-like proteins within a 56 kb region. The 7 DFR-like genes were found to be arranged in a tandem array, and all of them comprised 6 exons and 5 introns. Analysis of the predicted amino acid sequences demonstrated that these 7 proteins shared strong similarities with DFR and other enzymes of the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway. RT-PCR revealed the expression pattern of the 7 genes was different in various rice tissues. The structural and functional features of these 7 DFR-like genes and their evolutionary implications are discussed.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Gene Research, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200233, China. gfhong@newnetra.ncgr.ac.cn
authors.forename: Hai-Yan
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Lei
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Guo-Fan
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Hong
mesh_terms: D000429:Alcohol Oxidoreductases / Q000235:genetics*; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D032461:Chromosomes, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D005091:Exons; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D017343:Genes, Plant / Q000235:genetics*; D007438:Introns; D005810:Multigene Family / Q000235:genetics*; D010802:Phylogeny; D018749:RNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant; D018749:RNA, Plant; D000429:Alcohol Oxidoreductases; C056570:dihydroflavanol 4-reductase