The gene family of subtilisin-like serine proteases (subtilases, SBTs) in tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) comprises at least 15 members, 12 of which have been characterized in this study. Sequence comparison revealed that tomato subtilases fall into 5 distinct subfamilies. Single genes were shown to exist for LeSBT1, LeSBT2 and tmp), while 5 and 6 genes were found in the LeSBT3/4 and P69 subfamilies, respectively. With the exception of tmp, tomato subtilase genes were found to lack introns. Expression of subtilase genes was confirmed at the mRNA level by northern blot analysis and/or by primer extension experiments. For each of the 5 subtilase subfamilies, a distinctive pattern of expression was observed in tomato organs. At least one of the subtilases was found to be expressed in each organ analysed. Structural features evident from deduced amino acid sequences are discussed with reference to the related mammalian proprotein convertases.

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The role of nonverbal communication in patients with post-stroke language impairment (aphasia) is not yet fully understood. This study investigated how aphasic patients perceive and produce co-speech gestures during face-to-face interaction, and whether distinct brain lesions would predict the frequency of spontaneous co-speech gesturing. For this purpose, we recorded samples of conversations in patients with aphasia and healthy participants. Gesture perception was assessed by means of a head-mounted eye-tracking system, and the produced co-speech gestures were coded according to a linguistic classification system. The main results are that meaning-laden gestures (e.g., iconic gestures representing object shapes) are more likely to attract visual attention than meaningless hand movements, and that patients with aphasia are more likely to fixate co-speech gestures overall than healthy participants. This implies that patients with aphasia may benefit from the multimodal information provided by co-speech gestures. On the level of co-speech gesture production, we found that patients with damage to the anterior part of the arcuate fasciculus showed a higher frequency of meaning-laden gestures. This area lies in close vicinity to the premotor cortex and is considered to be important for speech production. This may suggest that the use of meaning-laden gestures depends on the integrity of patients’ speech production abilities.