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Plant and Cell Physiology Advance Access published online on February 5, 2007
Plant and Cell Physiology, doi:10.1093/pcp/pcm014
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxykinase in Arabidopsis: Changes in Gene Expression, Protein and Activity during Vegetative and Reproductive Development

Susan Malone1, Zhi-Hui Chen2, Ahmad R. Bahrami3, Robert P. Walker, Julie E. Gray and Richard C. Leegood

Robert Hill Institute, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, United Kingdom

Corresponding Author: Prof Richard C Leegood, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield. S10 2TN, UK, Tel: +44 114 2220040, Fax: +44 114 2220050, Email: r.leegood{at}sheffield.ac.uk


  Abstract

The aim of this work was to investigate the occurrence of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) in different tissues of Arabidopsis thaliana throughout its vegetative and reproductive growth. The A. thaliana genome contains two PEPCK genes (PCK1 and PCK2), and these are predicted to generate 73,404 and 72,891 Da protein products respectively. Both genes were transcribed in a range of tissues, however, PCK1 mRNA appeared to be more abundant and was present in a wider range of tissues. PEPCK protein was present in flowers, fruit, developing seed, germinating seed, leaves and roots. Two PEPCK polypeptides, of ~74 and ~73 kDa were detected by immunoblotting, and these may arise from PCK1 and PCK2 respectively. PEPCK was abundant in cotyledons during post-germinative growth, and this is consistent with its well established role in gluconeogenesis. PEPCK was also abundant in sink tissues, such as young leaves, in developing flowers, fruit and seed and was present in stems and roots. Immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridisation showed that PEPCK was present in the nectaries, stigma, endocarp of the fruit wall and with tissues involved in the transfer of assimilates to the developing ovules and seeds, such as the vasculature and seed coat. The potential functions of PEPCK in A. thaliana are discussed.

Keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana - development - flower - phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase - seed

1 Current address: Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College, London, SW7 2AZ, UK

2 Current address: Division of Cell and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD1 5EH, UK

3 Current address: Department of Biology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran


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