title: Targeted overexpression of the Escherichia coli MinC protein in higher plants results in abnormal chloroplasts.
abstract: Higher plant chloroplast division involves some of the same types of proteins that are required in prokaryotic cell division. These include two of the three Min proteins, MinD and MinE, encoded by the min operon in bacteria. Noticeably absent from annotated sequences from higher plants is a MinC homologue. A higher plant functional MinC homologue that would interfere with FtsZ polymerization, has yet to be identified. We sought to determine whether expression of the bacterial MinC in higher plants could affect chloroplast division. The Escherichia coli minC (EcMinC) gene was isolated and inserted behind the Arabidopsis thaliana RbcS transit peptide sequence for chloroplast targeting. This TP-EcMinC gene driven by the CaMV 35S(2) constitutive promoter was then transformed into tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.). Abnormally large chloroplasts were observed in the transgenic plants suggesting that overexpression of the E. coli MinC perturbed higher plant chloroplast division.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, University of Kentucky, 1405 Veterans Road, Lexington, KY 40546-0312, USA.
authors.forename: Venkata S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Tavva
authors.forename: Glenn B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Collins
authors.forename: Randy D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Dinkins
mesh_terms: D002736:Chloroplasts / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D015870:Gene Expression; D008565:Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000166:cytology* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D008565:Membrane Proteins; C462942:MinC protein, E coli