title: A tomato metacaspase gene is upregulated during programmed cell death in Botrytis cinerea-infected leaves.
abstract: Programmed cell death (PCD) in plant cells is often accompanied by biochemical and morphological hallmarks similar to those of animal apoptosis. However, orthologs of animal caspases, cysteinyl aspartate-specific proteases that constitute the core component of animal apoptosis, have not yet been identified in plants. Recent studies have revealed the presence of a family of genes encoding proteins with distant homology to mammalian caspases, designated metacaspases, in the Arabidopsis thaliana genome. Here, we describe the isolation of LeMCA1, a type-II metacaspase cDNA clone from tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). BLAST analysis demonstrated that the LeMCA1 gene is located in close vicinity of several genes that have been linked with PCD. Southern analysis indicated the existence of at least one more metacaspase in the tomato genome. LeMCA1 mRNA levels rapidly increased upon infection of tomato leaves with Botrytis cinerea, a fungal pathogen that induces cell death in several plant species. LeMCA1 was not upregulated during chemical-induced PCD in suspension-cultured tomato cells.
authors.affiliation: Agrotechnological Research Institute (ATO), Wageningen University and Research Centre, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Frank A
authors.initials: FA
authors.lastname: Hoeberichts
authors.forename: Arjen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: ten Have
authors.forename: Ernst J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Woltering
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D020171:Botrytis / Q000254:growth & development*; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D010940:Plant Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases