Plant and Cell Physiology Advance Access published online on September 18, 2006
Plant and Cell Physiology, doi:10.1093/pcp/pcl011
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 Botanisches Institut der Universität zu Köln, Lehrstuhl II, Gyrhofstrasse 15, D-50931 Cologne, Germany
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. By screening genome databases, twelve genes encoding membrane proteins homologous to Nucleobase/Ascorbate Transporters (NATs) were identified in Arabidopsis thaliana. A similar number of genes were found in the rice genome. The plant NAT proteins split into five clades (I-V) based on protein multi-sequence alignments. This classification nicely correlates with the patters of organ- and tissue-specific expression during the whole life cycle of A. thaliana. Interestingly, expression of two members of clade III, AtNAT7 and AtNAT8, was found to be upregulated in undifferentiated tissues like callus or tumors produced by Agrobacterium tumefaciens. Clade V comprises AtNAT12 possessing a hydrophilic N-terminal extension. Transient expression of GFP fusions in different systems showed that AtNAT12 along with AtNAT7 and -8 are located to the plasma membrane. Mutations in any of the AtNAT genes do not induce phenotypic alterations. The absence of obvious mutant phenotypes in single but also in double and triple mutants suggests a high degree of functional redundancy between AtNAT genes, but might also point to redundant functions provided by genes or pathways unrelated to the AtNATs.
Regular Paper
Identification and expression analysis of twelve members of the Nucleobase-Ascorbate Transporter (NAT) gene family in Arabidopsis thaliana
Verónica G. Maurino 1, Esther Grube 1, Julia Zielinski 1, Alexander Schild 1, Karsten Fischer 1, and Ulf-Ingo Flügge 1 *
Ulf-Ingo Flügge, E-mail: ui.fluegge{at}uni-koeln.de
![]()
Abstract ![]()
CiteULike
Connotea
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
S. M. Bulley, M. Rassam, D. Hoser, W. Otto, N. Schunemann, M. Wright, E. MacRae, A. Gleave, and W. Laing Gene expression studies in kiwifruit and gene over-expression in Arabidopsis indicates that GDP-L-galactose guanyltransferase is a major control point of vitamin C biosynthesis J. Exp. Bot., March 1, 2009; 60(3): 765 - 778. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
