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Two Arabidopsis thaliana genes, KOR2 and KOR3, which encode membrane-anchored endo-1,4-β-D-glucanases, are differentially expressed in developing leaf trichomes and their support cells

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Abstract

The Arabidopsis KOR gene encodes a membrane-anchored endo-1,4-β-D-glucanase involved in cell wall assembly. To obtain a more detailed knowledge of the small gene family encoding membrane-anchored endo-1,4-β-D-glucanases in Arabidopsis thaliana, we have characterized two additional membrane-anchored endo-1,4-β-D-glucanase genes. Sequence comparison indicates that KOR2 is distantly related to KOR and other plant membrane-anchored endo-1,4-β-D-glucanases. The expression of KOR2 and KOR3 was followed by the β-glucuronidase (gusA) reporter-gene method. While the KOR gene is most often expressed throughout the plant, KOR2::gusA and KOR3::gusA are active only in restricted cell types. We demonstrate that KOR2::gusA is expressed very early in the development of root hairs within the root differentiation zone (specialization zone) but not in the root-hair-bearing epidermal cells at the root/shoot junction (transition zone). Furthermore, KOR2::gusA is expressed in the proximal parts of leaves and floral organs (rosette and cauline leaves, sepals, petals and stamens), and in trichomes, as they develop at the tip of young leaves and later in more basal regions of the leaf blade. The KOR3::gusA construct is expressed in the trichome support cells that form a ring at the base of each trichome and in the bundle sheath cells which surround the vascular bundle within the leaf mesophyll tissue. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction of Arabidopsis RNA confirmed the expression of KOR2::gusA and KOR3::gusA. In conclusion, although KOR2 and KOR3 have more restricted expression patterns than the previously characterized KOR gene, they are expressed in cell types at time points where cell wall assembly is likely to occur and, interestingly, differentially expressed in leaf trichomes and their support cells.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biotechnology Group and Centre for Molecular Plant Physiology (PlaCe), Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Thorvaldsensvej 40, 1871, Frederiksberg C, Denmark

    Michael Mølhøj, Bodil Jørgensen, Peter Ulvskov & Bernhard Borkhardt

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  1. Michael Mølhøj
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  2. Bodil Jørgensen
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  3. Peter Ulvskov
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  4. Bernhard Borkhardt
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Mølhøj, M., Jørgensen, B., Ulvskov, P. et al. Two Arabidopsis thaliana genes, KOR2 and KOR3, which encode membrane-anchored endo-1,4-β-D-glucanases, are differentially expressed in developing leaf trichomes and their support cells. Plant Mol Biol 46, 263–275 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010688726755

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