Cephalosporium caerulens, polyketideThe fabB gene of E. coli encoding ~-ketoacyl-ACP synthase I has been isolated by complementation and sequenced. The enzyme has been purified and its NH2-terminal residues sequenced. Identification of the active site was accomplished by tagging with 3H-cerulenin and radio sequencing of the region. Comparison of the deduced primary structures of thefabB gene product with the FAS2 gene product of Saccharomyces cerevisiae revealed the probable active site in chalcone synthases of higher plants.

Wild type wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and three mutant lines that have reduced glaucousness on the flag leaf sheath have been examined for variations in glaucousness, contact angles, wax chemistry and wax morphology. On the sheath and culm, organs that are glaucous in the wild type, increasing glaucousness is correlated with increasing contact angles, an increasing proportion of β-diketones plus hydroxy-β-diketones in the was and an increasing proportion of wax tubes. Organs that were non-glaucous in all four lines, namely both surfaces of the vegetative leaves and the adaxial surface of the flag leaf, had high contact angles, a dense covering of wax plates and waxes rich in primary alcohols but devoid of β-diketones and hydroxy-β-diketones. The abaxial surface of the flag leaf was the most complex of the organ surfaces studied. In the wild type the glaucousness of the sheath continued onto this surface for 1-2 cm and this was correlated with the other characters studied as it was on the sheath. In the mutants, however, the tubes were absent. Flat ribbons of varying widths, a new wax structure in wheat, as well as various types of plates were found instead. These structures continued to the flag leaf tip and were also present on the abaxial surface of the wild type flag leaf. Changes in contact angle at the tip could not be correlated with the other measured parameters.

Acyl carrier protein (ACP) is an essential cofactor for plant fatty acid synthesis. Three isoforms occur in barley seedling leaves. The genes Acl1 and Acl3 coding for the predominant ACP I and the minor ACP III, respectively, have been cloned and characterized as has a full-length cDNA for ACP III. Both genes, extending over more than 2.5 kb, have a conserved mosaic structure of four exons and three introns which result in mRNAs of ca. 900 bases. Alignment of the DNA sequences demonstrates that homology is restricted to the two exons coding for the mature protein whereas the remaining segments of the genes including the transit peptide-coding domains lack homology. Southern blot analyses demonstrate that Acl1 and Acl3 represent single copy genes located on chromosomes 7 and 1, respectively. Primer extension analyses identified multiple transcription start sites in both genes. The promoter regions are remarkably different; that of Acl3 resembles those for mammalian housekeeping genes in having a high G + C content plus three copies of an RNA polymerase II recognition GC element and in lacking correctly positioned TATA boxes. These features are in accordance with the hypothesis that Acl1 is specifically expressed in leaf tissue whereas Acl3 is a constitutively expressed gene.