title: Xyloglucan endotransglycosylase/hydrolase (XTH) is encoded by a multi-gene family in the primitive vascular land plant Selaginella kraussiana.
abstract: Xyloglucan endotransglycosylase/hydrolases (XTHs) are enzymes that cleave and rejoin xyloglucan chains. To trace the evolutionary origin of XTHs, we used Selaginella kraussiana, a representative of the most primitive land plants (Lycopodiophyta). A Southern blot with a digoxigenin-labeled probe, designed on the conserved catalytic site of XTHs, indicated nine genes. The presence of at least seven functional XTHs was detected by isoelectric focusing (IEF) followed by overlaying the gel with a XET-test paper. Together, these results indicate that XTHs are encoded by a multi-gene family that originated during or even before the colonization of land by plants.
authors.affiliation: Biology Department, Plant Physiology and Morphology, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp, Belgium.
authors.forename: V S T
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Van Sandt
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guisez
authors.forename: J-P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Verbelen
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vissenberg
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D015139:Blotting, Southern; D017124:Conserved Sequence; D016695:Glycosyltransferases / Q000235:genetics*; D007525:Isoelectric Focusing; D005810:Multigene Family; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D032503:Selaginellaceae / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D010940:Plant Proteins; D016695:Glycosyltransferases; C473049:xyloglucan - xyloglucosyltransferase