The endosperm-specific expression of a rice prolamin chimaeric gene in transgenic tobacco plants

Cloning and structural analysis of an Indian little millet (Panicum sumatrense) zein-like storage protein: implications for molecular assembly

Zeins are prolamin storage proteins that accumulate in kernel endosperm of several cereals. For cloning of genes coding for zein-like proteins that accumulate in enhanced quantities in the filling stages of little millet (Panicum sumatrense Roth.) developing grains, RT-PCR was performed using specific primers. A 750-bp cDNA was directly sequenced and in silico analysis showed high identity degree to alpha-prolamins. This family is composed of zeins from Zea mays, coixins from Coix lachryma-jobi, and alpha-kafirins from Sorghum bicolor. The putative conserved domain of zein-like proteins was identified by primary structure comparisons. Furthermore, threading analyses indicated that the millet zein-like protein forms an anti-parallel alpha-helical hairpin with two opposite surfaces: one hydrophobic and the other hydrophilic that probably could be involved in protein storage assembly. Knowledge about zein-like alpha-prolamins in little millet will lead to cloning and transfer of this gene to other major food crops, such as cereals and legumes, with inferior nutritional quality for monogastric animals.

Amino acid variation in the 10 kDa Oryza prolamin seed storage protein

The deduced amino acid variability for the 10 kDa prolamin was determined for 16 Oryza species, both cultivated (rice) and wild. Prolamin, a seed storage protein and site of nitrogen and sulfur accumulation, is sequestered in the subaleurone layer of the starchy endosperm for use during seedling germination. The 10 kDa prolamin amino acid distribution for the cultivated species (O. sativa and O. glaberrima) was determined and compared to those of wild and, hitherto unknown, noncultivated Oryza species. Four wild species (O. granulata, O. australiensis, O. brachyantha, and O. meyeriana) exhibited the greatest residue heterogeneity in both the signal and mature peptide regions. A breakdown of the essential amino acid variance among three Central/South American and one African endemic wild species is also presented and compared with those of rice.

Characterization of common cis-regulatory elements responsible for the endosperm-specific expression of members of the rice glutelin multigene family

Glutelin is the most abundant storage protein in rice, which is expressed specifically in the endosperm of maturing seed. Glutelin is encoded by about 10 genes per haploid genome, which are clearly divided into two subfamilies (GluA and GluB). Most of them are coordinately expressed during seed maturation in spite of the remarkable divergence in the 5'-flanking regions between members of two subfamilies. In order to identify the common regulatory mechanisms responsible for the endosperm-specific expression, various cis-regulatory elements in the 5'-flanking region of the glutelin GluB-1 gene were characterized by studying the expression of chimeric genes that consisted of the sequentially deleted or mutagenized promoter and a beta-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene in transgenic tobacco seeds. The essential cis-regulatory elements governing the spatially and temporally specific expression of the glutelin gene expression were located within the first 245 bp of the promoter region of the GluB-1 gene from the site of initiation of transcription. The AACA motif between positions -73 and -61 common to all the six genes for glutelin sequenced to date and is repeated between positions -212 and -200 is implicated in the seed-specific expression. The GCN4 motif between positions -165 and -158 and between positions -96 and -92 that is conserved at homologous sites in all the members of glutelin gene family is also involved in the seed-specific regulation. However, both are required for the high level of seed-specific expression, because deletion of the region containing one set of both elements or substitution mutation of the AACA or GCN4 motif substantially reduced the activity. As a whole, our results suggest the combinatorial interaction of the elements in regulation of the glutelin gene expression.

Effect of the dpy-20 and rol-6 cotransformation markers on alpha-tubulin gene expression in C. elegans transformants

An alpha-1 tubulin::lacZ fusion gene was introduced into the germline of Caenorhabditis elegans, using either rol-6 or dpy-20 genomic DNA as a cotransformation marker. Distinct patterns in cellular specificity of the alpha-1 tubulin::lacZ fusion gene expression were observed, depending on the cotransformation marker used. For the rol-6 marker, the tubulin fusion gene was expressed in several neurons in the head and tail ganglia and a set of 38-39 ventral cord motor neurons along the body length of the animal during larval and adult development. In contrast, for the dpy-20 marker system, not only were fewer neurons stained in the head and tail region, but also the staining of ventral cord motor neurons was extremely reduced both in number and intensity. The dpy-20 marked-mediated suppression of the alpha-1 tubulin gene expression was observed both in the cis and trans configurations. Similar down-regulation in the ventral cord motor neurons was observed when the alpha-2 tubulin::lacZ fusion gene construct was tested in these experiments using the dpy-20 marker. In controls, where the tubulin fusion gene was directly injected to obtain transformants without any marker DNA, the cellular staining pattern was close to the fusion gene expression observed with the rol-6 marker DNA. These results underline the importance of the choice of transformation marker system in generation of the transgenic animals, and reveal a down-regulation of the alpha-tubulin fusion gene expression in the ventral cord motor neurons in transgenic animals when the dpy-20 gene was used as a cotransformation marker.