Author
 |
Miernyk, Jan |
|
Coop, Nichole |
|
Submitted to: Plant Physiology Plant Gene Register Electronic Submission
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Publication Acceptance Date: 3/2/2000 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: A variety of environmental factors can induce the stress response in plants including temperature extremes, exposure to toxic chemicals, and attack by predators or pathogens. When challenged by these environmental extremes, plants produce a group of specific chemicals. These chemicals help plants to survive the stress conditions. The genetic material responsible for a part of the stress response was isolated, and comparisons were made with similar genetic material from animals and micro-organisms. The information obtained will be important to researchers in their attempts to increase agricultural productivity by altering the stress response of plant cells and to other plant scientists who will try to design more efficient crop plants through either classical breeding or biotechnology. Technical Abstract: An Arabidopsis thaliana cDNA was sequenced; the reading frame encodes a short polypeptide (AtJ20) that has homology to the J-domain of Escherichia coli DnaJ. When aligned with other A. thaliana J-domain proteins, the deduced AtJ20 amino acid sequence is extended at the N-terminus. This N-terminal extension has characteristics of a plastid transit peptide. Analysis of the sequence using several different localization algorithm deduced a plastid localization. The results of Northern analysis indicate that AtJ20 is expressed to relatively high levels only in green organs; shoots, leaves, and siliques. The results of Southern analysis are consistent with the existence of a single AtJ20 gene. |
