No abstract

A cDNA, cRKIN1, encoding a putative homologue of the yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisuiae) SNFl (6), human cells (7), and Xenopus (8) are also present in pea (9) and Arabidopsis (10). All protein kinases that have been characterized in detail contain a number of key residues and conserved regions in the catalytic domain (11) but can be divided into two classes: those that phosphorylate serine/threonine residues and those that phosphorylate tyrosine residues. In the present report, we present the nucleotide sequence of a cDNA, cRKIN1,** isolated from a rye endosperm cDNA library. The cRKIN1-encoded protein contains all the invariant residues and conserved domains characteristic ofeukaryotic protein-serine/threonine kinases. It is particularly similar to the product ofthe SNFJ gene of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) (12), a protein affecting global regulation of carbon metabolism, and the expression of cRKIN1 in yeast snfl mutants restores SNFJ function.

Reactive oxygen species are common causes of cellular damages in all aerobic organisms. In Escherichia coli, the oxyR gene product is a positive regulator of the oxyR regulon that is induced in response to H202 stress. To identify genes involved in counteracting oxidative stress in plants, we transformed a AoxyR mutant of E. coli with an Arabidopsis thaliana cDNA library and selected for clones that restored the ability of the AoxyR mutant to grow in the presence of H202. Using this approach, we isolated a cDNA that has strong homology with the annexin super-gene family. The complemented mutant showed higher catalase activity. mRNA expression of the annexin gene in A. thaliana was higher in roots as compared with other organs and was also increased when the plants were exposed to H202 stress or salicylic acid. Based on the results presented in this study, we propose a novel physiological role for annexin in counteracting H202 stress.

Cells in maize (Zea mays) endosperm undergo multiple cycles of endoreduplication, with some attaining DNA contents as high as 96C and 192C. Genome amplification begins around 10 d after pollination, coincident with cell enlargement and the onset of starch and storage protein accumulation. Although the role of endoreduplication is unclear, it is thought to provide a mechanism that increases cell size and enhances gene expression. To investigate this process, we reduced endoreduplication in transgenic maize endosperm by ectopically expressing a gene encoding a dominant negative mutant form of cyclin-dependent kinase A. This gene was regulated by the 27-kD γ-zein promoter, which restricted synthesis of the defective enzyme to the endoreduplication rather than the mitotic phase of endosperm development. Overexpression of a wild-type cyclin-dependent kinase A increased enzyme activity but had no effect on endoreduplication. By contrast, ectopic expression of the defective enzyme lowered kinase activity and reduced by half the mean C-value and total DNA content of endosperm nuclei. The lower level of endoreduplication did not affect cell size and only slightly reduced starch and storage protein accumulation. There was little difference in the level of endosperm gene expression with high and low levels of endoreduplication, suggesting that this process may not enhance transcription of genes associated with starch and storage protein synthesis