title: Cloning and comparative analysis of the gene encoding diacylglycerol acyltransferase from wild type and cultivated soybean.
abstract: Diacylglycerol acyltransferase (DGAT), as an important enzyme in triacylglycerol synthesis, catalyzes the final acylation of the Kennedy pathway. In the present study, the GmDGAT gene was cloned from Glycine max by using AtDGAT as a query to search against the soybean EST database and the rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) method. Allelic genes were also isolated from 13 soybean accessions and the divergence of the deduced amino acid sequences were compared. The comparison reveals that although GmDGAT is a highly conserved protein, several differences of insertion/deletion were identified in the N-terminal region of the GmDGATs from various soybean accessions. In the C-terminal regions, a single amino acid mutation specific to both G. max and G. soja was also found. The GmDGAT genomic sequences were further cloned and the number and size of exons in the DGAT genomic sequence were very similar among different plant species, whereas the introns were more diverged. These results may have significance in elucidating the genetic diversity of the GmDGAT among the soybean subgenus.
authors.affiliation: The National Key Laboratory of Plant Genomics, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100101 Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hui-Wen
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jin-Song
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jun-Yi
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Gai
authors.forename: Shou-Yi
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D051048:Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D005091:Exons / Q000235:genetics; D017343:Genes, Plant / Q000502:physiology; D007438:Introns / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D013025:Glycine max / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development
chemical_list: D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D018744:DNA, Plant; D051048:Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase