Characterization of the alpha-tubulin gene family of Arabidopsis thaliana.

Abstract

The genome of Arabidopsis thaliana (Linnaeus) Heynhold was shown to contain an c-tubulin gene family consisting of at least four genes and/or pseudogenes. The primary structure of a transcribed a-tubulin gene was determined. A comparison of the predicted amino acid sequence of the A. thaliana a-tubulin with the predicted amino acid sequences of a-tubulins of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, Stylonychia lemnae, and Homo sapiens reveals a high degree of homology; 90%, 87%, and 83% identity, respectively. Thus, a plant a-tubulin exhibits a high degree of homology to the a-tubulins of protists and animals. The coding sequence of the A. thaliana a-tubulin gene is interrupted by four introns, which occur at positions different from those of the less numerous introns of C. reinhardtii and rat cv-tubulin genes. S1 nuclease mapping data showed that transcription is initiated 99 ± 1 base pairs upstream from the translation initiation codon. Both 5' and 3' noncoding gene-specific probes were used to examine the expression of the a-tubulin gene in leaves, roots, and flowers by hybridization to total RNA isolated from these tissues. The results showed that the a-tubulin gene was transcribed in all three tissues.Microtubules play central roles in several of the most basic processes of eukaryotic cells: cell division, cell motility, intracellular transport, and the control of cell shape. In plant cells, rigid cell walls obviate the need for direct cytoskeletal maintenance of cell shape. However, wall formation and the division of walled cells require the action of several microtubule arrays unique to plant systems. These arrays include the cortical microtubules involved in orientation of cellulose microfibrils, the preprophase band (which delineates the plane of the ensuing cell division), and the phragmoplast (which forms at the equatorial plane of the spindle to participate in formation of the new cell wall) (see refs. 1-3 for reviews).Approaches to understanding the diversity of microtubule function in animal and fungal systems have included the molecular and genetic analysis of genes coding for

Cloning, Purification, and Polymerization ofCapsicum annuumRecombinant α and β Tubulin

“…The and tubulin gene sequences were 1,353 bp long, with G þ C contents of 47 and 45% respectively, and were predicted to encode a putative 450 aa protein individually (data not shown). These results were in good agreement with the aa sequences reported for plant tubulins, including Arabidopsis thaliana, 13,14) Glycine max L., 15) and Eleusine indica. 16,17) At the nucleotide level, the CAnm -and -TUB genes shared 78-95 and 76-93% homology with coding regions of plant tubulin cDNAs.…”

Vacuolar Sulfate Transporters Are Essential Determinants Controlling Internal Distribution of Sulfate in Arabidopsis

“…Positions of the primer pairs are indicated in (A). a-Tubulin (Ludwig et al, 1987) is a constitutive control. The primer sequences are described in Methods.…”

Phloem-Localizing Sulfate Transporter, Sultr1;3, Mediates Re-Distribution of Sulfur from Source to Sink Organs in Arabidopsis

“…PCR was carried out for 24 cycles where cDNAs were exponentially amplified. Amplification of Sultr1;1, Sultr1;2, and ␣-tubulin (Ludwig et al, 1987) was carried out as described previously (Yoshimoto et al, 2002). PCR products were separated in agarose gels and stained with SYBR green (Takara).…”