JXB Advance Access first published online on June 21, 2007
This version published online on July 4, 2007
Journal of Experimental Botany, doi:10.1093/jxb/erm129
RESEARCH PAPER |
Phylogenetic and molecular analysis of the ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase small subunit gene family in banana
1School of Integrative Biology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
2Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Plant Protection, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia
3Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Laboratory of Tropical Crop Improvement, Kasteelpark Arenberg, 3001 Heverlee-Leuven, Belgium
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: p.schenk{at}uq.edu.au
Despite being the number one fruit crop in the world, very little is known about the phylogeny and molecular biology of banana (Musa spp.). Six banana rbcS gene families encoding the small subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase from six different Musa spp. are presented. For a comprehensive phylogenetic study using Musa rbcS genes, a total of 57 distinct rbcS sequences was isolated from six accessions that contained different combinations of the A and B ancestral/parental genomes. As a result, five of the six members of the rbcS gene family could be affiliated with the A and/or B Musa genomes and at least three of the six gene families most likely existed before Musa A and B genomes separated. By combining sequence data with quantitative real-time PCR it was determined that the different Musa rbcS gene family members are also often multiply represented in each genome, with the highest copy numbers in the B genome. Expression of some of the rbcS genes varied in intensity and in different tissues indicating differences in regulation. To analyse and compare regulatory sequences of Musa rbcS genes, promoter and terminator regions were cloned for three Musa rbcS genes. Transient transformation assays using promoterreporterterminator constructs in maize, wheat, and sugarcane demonstrated that the rbcS-Ma1, rbcS-Ma3, and rbcS-Ma5 promoters could be useful for transgene expression in heterologous expression systems. Furthermore, the rbcS-Ma1 terminator resulted in a 2-fold increase of transgene expression when directly compared with the widely used Nos terminator.
Key words: Gene expression, intron, Musa, phylogenomic analysis, promoter, rbcS, RuBisCo, terminator
These papers are now not Open Access.
Received 27 March 2007; Revised 17 May 2007 Accepted 17 May 2007