title: Molecular cloning of a pepper gene that is homologous to SELF-PRUNING.
abstract: "Determinate" and "indeterminate" inflorescences in plants are controlled by a single recessive gene, for example, SELF-PRUNING (SP) in Solanum lycopersicum, TERMINAL FLOWER1 in Arabidopsis, CENTRORADI-ALIS in Antirrhinum, and CENTRORADIALIS-like gene in tobacco. Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is an indeterminate species in which shoots grow indefinitely. In this study, we cloned and characterized the pepper SP-like gene (CaSP). RT-PCR revealed that the CaSP transcript accumulates to higher levels in floral buds than in other organs. Comparison of genomic DNA and cDNA sequences from indeterminate and determinate pepper plants revealed the insertion of a single base in the first exon of CaSP in the determinate pepper plants. CaSP is annotated in linkage group 8 (chromosome 6) of the SNU2 pepper genetic map and showed similar synteny to SP in tomato. Transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing CaSP displayed late-flowering phenotypes similar to the phenotypes caused by overexpression of CaSP orthologs in other plants. Collectively, these results suggest that pepper CaSP is an ortholog of SP in tomato.
authors.affiliation: Center for Plant Molecular Genetics and Breeding Research, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-921, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Hwan
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Myeong Suk
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Hyun Wooh
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Yeong Deuk
authors.initials: YD
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.forename: Myeong Cheoul
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Cho
authors.forename: Byung-Dong
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001483:Base Sequence; D002212:Capsicum / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D035264:Flowers / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010641:Phenotype; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified / Q000378:metabolism; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; C112956:SP protein, Lycopersicon esculentum