Alternatively Spliced Products of the Maize P Gene Encode Proteins With Homology to the DNA-Binding Domain of myb-Like Transcription Factors

• Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 88; no. 11; pp. 4587 - 4591
• Main Authors: Grotewold, Erich, Athma, Prasanna, Peterson, Thomas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 01.06.1991; National Acad Sciences
• Subjects: Alleles; Amino Acid Sequence; Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; Blotting, Northern; Cloning, Molecular; Complementary DNA; Corn; DNA-Binding Proteins - genetics; Exons; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene expression; Genes; Genes, Plant; Introns; Molecular and cellular biology; Molecular genetics; Molecular Sequence Data; Nucleic Acid Hybridization; Oligonucleotide Probes; Pericarp; Plant Proteins - genetics; Protein-Tyrosine Kinases - genetics; Proteins; Proto-Oncogene Proteins - genetics; Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myb; Restriction Mapping; RNA; RNA probes; RNA Splicing; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; Transcription Factors - genetics; Transcription, Genetic; Zea mays - genetics; Northern blotting; Primer extension technique; Nucleotide sequence; Gene product; C-Onc gene; Restriction map; Biosynthesis; Molecular cloning; Transcription factor; Flavonoid; Comparative study; Aminoacid sequence
• ISSN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.88.11.4587

The Zea mays P gene has been postulated to regulate the biosynthetic pathway of a flavonoid-derived pigment in certain floral tissues [Styles, E. D. \& Ceska, O. (1977) Can. J. Genet. Cytol. 19, 289-302]. We have characterized two P transcripts that are alternatively spliced at their 3' ends. One message of 1802 nucleotides encodes a 43.7-kDa protein with an N-terminal region showing ≈40% homology to the DNA-binding domain of several members of the myb family of protooncogene proteins. A second message of 945 nucleotides encodes a 17.3-kDa protein that contains most of the myb-homologous domain but differs from the first protein at the C terminus. The deduced P-encoded proteins show an even higher homology (70%) in the myb-homologous domain to the maize regulatory gene C1. Additionally, the P and C1 genes are structurally similar in the sizes and positions of the first and second exons and first intron. We show that P is required for accumulation in the pericarp of transcripts of two genes (A1 and C2) encoding enzymes for flavonoid biosynthesis-genes also regulated by C1 in the aleurone.