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PubMed1998

Biochemical and phylogenetic characterization of the dUTPase from the archaeal virus SIRV.

The derived amino acid sequence from a 474-base pair open reading frame in the genome of the Sulfolobus islandicus rod-shaped virus SIRV shows striking similarity to bacterial dCTP deaminases and to dUTPases from eukaryotes, bacteria, Poxviridae, and Retroviridae. The putative gene was expressed in Escherichia coli, and dUTPase activity of the recombinant enzyme was demonstrated by hydrolysis of dUTP to dUMP. Deamination of dCTP by the enzyme was not detected. Phylogenetic analysis based on amino acid sequences of the characterized enzyme and its homologues showed that the dUTPase-encoding dut genes and the dCTP deaminase-encoding dcd genes constitute a paralogous gene family. This report is the first identification and functional characterization of an archaeal dUTPase and the first phylogeny derived for the dcd-dut gene family.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2002

Identification of chromosome arms influencing expression of the HMW glutenins in wheat.

The high-molecular-weight (HMW) glutenin genes, located on the group 1L chromosome arms, are a major determinant for baking quality in wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.). In addition, the HMW glutenin genes provide a valuable model system for studying the evolution and regulation of orthologous and paralogous genes in polyploid species. The goal of this study was to identify loci that modify the expression of the HMW glutenins, and to map them to specific chromosome arms. Comparisons were made between endosperms with zero versus three (or three versus six) doses for each of the 42 chromosome arms of wheat. SDS-PAGE and scanning densitometry were used to quantify the protein expression levels of the four HMW glutenin genes in cv. Chinese Spring, for each of the dosage comparisons. Fifteen chromosome arms were found to have significant effects on Glu-B1-1, excluding the structural gene dosage effect: eight positive effects on 1AL, 2AS, 2BL, 2DS, 5DS, 6AL, 6DL, and 7AL and seven negative effects on 1BS, 1DS, 1DL, 4DL, 6BS, 6DS, and 7AS. Nineteen chromosome arms had significant effects on Glu-B1-2, excluding the structural gene dosage effect: eight positive effects on 1AL, 2AS, 2BS, 3AL, 4BL, 6DS, 7BL and 7DS and 11 negative effects on 1AS, 1BS, 1DS, 1DL, 2AL, 2BL, 3DS, 4BS, 4DL, 5BL, and 6BS. Twenty chromosome arms had significant effects on Glu-D1-1, excluding the structural gene dosage effect: 11 positive effects on 1AL, 1BL, 2BS, 2DS, 5BS, 5DS, 6AL, 6DS, 6DL, 7AL, and 7BL and nine negative effects on 1AS, 1BS, 1DS, 2BL, 4DL, 5BL, 5DL, 6BL, and 7DS. Twenty-five chromosome arms had significant effects on Glu-D1-2, excluding the structural gene dosage effect: 17 positive effects on 1BL, 2AS, 2BS, 2DS, 2DL, 3AS, 3AL, 3BS, 5AS, 5BS, 5DL, 6AL, 6DL, 7AL, 7BS, 7BL, and 7DL and eight negative effects on 1DS, 4DL, 5AL, 5BL, 6BS, 6BL, 6DS and 7DS. Of the 164 gene-chromosome arm tests performed, about 52% (85/164) showed no significant effects, and 48% (79/164) showed significant effects, excluding the structural gene dosage effects. Of the significant effects, 56% (44/79) were positive effects, and 44% (35/79) were negative effects. Comparisons of dosage effects on orthologous loci (both x-type or both y-type HMW glutenins) showed that orthologous HMW glutenin genes are largely influenced by the same regulatory systems. Less correlation was found for comparisons between paralogous genes, although considerable conservation was observed at this level as well. These observations suggest that after polyploidization, many of the duplicated orthologous regulatory loci were inactivated by mutation, thus consolidating control over the HMW glutenin genes. Possible candidates for orthologous regulatory genes were identified in maize and barley. This study represents the first comprehensive search of the wheat genome for regulators of the HMW glutenins.

Chromosome Mapping↗
PubMed2006

The mir-84 and let-7 paralogous microRNA genes of Caenorhabditis elegans direct the cessation of molting via the conserved nuclear hormone receptors NHR-23 and NHR-25.

The let-7 microRNA (miRNA) gene of Caenorhabditis elegans controls the timing of developmental events. let-7 is conserved throughout bilaterian phylogeny and has multiple paralogs. Here, we show that the paralog mir-84 acts synergistically with let-7 to promote terminal differentiation of the hypodermis and the cessation of molting in C. elegans. Loss of mir-84 exacerbates phenotypes caused by mutations in let-7, whereas increased expression of mir-84 suppresses a let-7 null allele. Adults with reduced levels of mir-84 and let-7 express genes characteristic of larval molting as they initiate a supernumerary molt. mir-84 and let-7 promote exit from the molting cycle by regulating targets in the heterochronic pathway and also nhr-23 and nhr-25, genes encoding conserved nuclear hormone receptors essential for larval molting. The synergistic action of miRNA paralogs in development may be a general feature of the diversified miRNA gene family.

3' Untranslated Regions↗
PubMed2004

Divergence of spatial gene expression profiles following species-specific gene duplications in human and mouse.

To examine the process by which duplicated genes diverge in function, we studied how the gene expression profiles of orthologous gene sets in human and mouse are affected by the presence of additional recent species-specific paralogs. Gene expression profiles were compared across 16 homologous tissues in human and mouse using microarray data from the Gene Expression Atlas for 1575 sets of orthologs including 250 with species-specific paralogs. We find that orthologs that have undergone recent duplication are less likely to have strongly correlated expression profiles than those that remain in a one-to-one relationship between human and mouse. There is a general trend for paralogous genes to become more specialized in their expression patterns, with decreased breadth and increased specificity of expression as gene family size increases. Despite this trend, detailed examination of some particular gene families where species-specific duplications have occurred indicated several examples of apparent neofunctionalization of duplicated genes, but only one case of subfunctionalization. Often, the expression of both copies of a duplicated gene appears to have changed relative to the ancestral state. Our results suggest that gene expression profiles are surprisingly labile and that expression in a particular tissue may be gained or lost repeatedly during the evolution of even small gene families. We conclude that gene duplication is a major driving force behind the emergence of divergent gene expression patterns.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Coding region intron/exon organization, alternative splicing, and X-chromosome inactivation of the KRAB/FPB-domain-containing human zinc finger gene ZNF41.

ZNF41 belongs to a cluster of human zinc finger genes residing within a gene-rich region at Xp11.23. ZNF41 encodes a KRAB/FPB (Krüppel-associated/finger preceding box) domain, a potent transcription repression motif present in hundreds of vertebrate zinc finger protein genes, composed of two protein modules, A and B. Three introns, placed at identical positions in paralogous genes, interrupt four exons encoding the ZNF41 N-terminal amino acids, the KRAB/FPB-A and KRAB/FPB-B modules, and the remaining coding region adjoined to the C-terminal zinc finger domain. Since the KRAB/FPB-A and KRAB/FPB-B modules are encoded by dedicated exons in ZNF41 and paralogous genes, exon skipping may lead to differential usage of these modules in alternative gene products. RT-PCR analysis of ZNF41 mRNAs showed that, while skipping of the KRAB/FPB-A and/or KRAB/FPB-B exons was not detected, the use of alternative donor/acceptor sites upstream of the KRAB/FPB-A exon generates multiple ZNF41 transcripts potentially encoding polypeptides differing in the N-terminal region and expressed in different tissues. The expression pattern in cell hybrids containing either active or inactive X chromosomes indicates that ZNF41, which resides within a region of the X chromosome that includes genes that are both subject to and escape X-inactivation, is susceptible to X-chromosome inactivation.

Alternative Splicing↗
PubMed2006

Biological applications of the theory of birth-and-death processes.

In this review, we discuss applications of the theory of birth-and-death processes to problems in biology, primarily, those of evolutionary genomics. The mathematical principles of the theory of these processes are briefly described. Birth-and-death processes, with some straightforward additions such as innovation, are a simple, natural and formal framework for modeling a vast variety of biological processes such as population dynamics, speciation, genome evolution, including growth of paralogous gene families and horizontal gene transfer and somatic evolution of cancers. We further describe how empirical data, e.g. distributions of paralogous gene family size, can be used to choose the model that best reflects the actual course of evolution among different versions of birth-death-and-innovation models. We conclude that birth-and-death processes, thanks to their mathematical transparency, flexibility and relevance to fundamental biological processes, are going to be an indispensable mathematical tool for the burgeoning field of systems biology.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Extensively high load of internal tumors determined by whole body MRI scanning in a patient with neurofibromatosis type 1 and a non-LCR-mediated 2-Mb deletion in 17q11.2.

Deletions in 17q11.2 affecting the NF1 gene and surrounding regions occur in 5% of patients with NF1. The two major types of NF1 deletions encompass 1.4-Mb and 1.2-Mb, respectively, and have breakpoints in the NF1 low-copy repeats or in the JJAZ gene and its pseudogene. Deletions larger than 1.4-Mb are rare, and only seven cases have been reported so far. Here, we describe a 26-year-old NF1 patient with an "atypical" NF1 deletion of 2-Mb. In contrast to the 1.4-Mb deletions, which preferentially occur by interchromosomal recombination during maternal meiosis, the deletion described here occurred intrachromosomally on the paternal chromosome. The centromeric deletion breakpoint lies in an L1-element located 1.3-Mb proximal to the NF1 gene. The telomeric deletion boundary is located in a single copy segment between an AT-rich segment and an AluSx-element in intron 15 of the JJAZ1 gene. Structural analysis implies that non-B DNA conformations at the breakpoints destabilized the duplex DNA and caused double-strand breaks. Although the breakpoints of this 2-Mb deletion are not recurrent, it is conspicuous that one breakpoint is located in the JJAZ1 gene. Paralogous recombination between the JJAZ1 gene and its pseudogene causes the recurrent 1.2 Mb deletions. The genomic architecture of the NF1 gene region, influenced by paralogous sequences such as the JJAZ1 gene and its pseudogene, seems also to stimulate the occurrence of non-recurrent deletions mediated by non-homologous end joining. Patient 442 described here suffers from a very high burden of subdermal neurofibromas. Magnetic resonance imaging of the whole body revealed numerous internal tumors, mainly plexiform neurofibromas and spinal tumors. This demonstrates the value of whole-body MRI scanning in determining the total tumor load, which is an important aspect in genotype/phenotype correlations with regard to large NF1 deletions.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Paralogs of genes encoding metal resistance proteins in Cupriavidus metallidurans strain CH34.

Cupriavidus (Wautersia, Ralstonia, Alcaligenes) metallidurans strain CH34is a well-studied example of a metal-resistant proteobacterium. Genome sequence analysis revealed the presence of a variety of paralogs of proteins that were previously shown to be involved in heavy metal resistance. Which advantage has C. metallidurans in maintaining all these paralogs during evolution? Paralogs investigated belong to the families RND (resistance nodulation cell division) or CHR (chromate resistance). The respective genes were localized by PCR either on one of the two native megaplasmids pMOL28 and pMOL30 of strain CH34, or on its chromosomal DNA. Gene expression was studied by real-time reverse transcriptase PCR and by reporter gene constructs. Genes found to be inducible were disrupted and their contribution to metal resistance measured. When two or three highly related genes were present, usually one was inducible by heavy metals while the other one or two were silent or constitutively expressed. This suggests that C. metallidurans CH34 carries a variety of no longer or not yet used genes that might serve as surplus material for further developments, an advantage that may compensate for the costs of maintaining these genes during evolution.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed2005

Organization and base composition of tilapia Hox genes: implications for the evolution of Hox clusters in fish.

Hox genes encode DNA binding proteins that specify cell fate in the anterior-posterior axis of metazoan animal embryos. While each Hox cluster contains the same genes among the different mammalian species, this does not happen in ray-finned fish, in which both the number and organization of Hox genes and even Hox clusters are variables. Ray-finned fish are believed to have undergone an additional genome duplication that led to the presence of 8 Hox clusters (four twin pairs) in their ancestor. Here we describe the Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) Hox genes set in terms of gene content, clusters organization and base composition and compare it with those of pufferfish and zebrafish. We observed that in all these fish, when paralogous genes are conserved in both the twin clusters, the gene which has a lower GC level generally: (i) belongs to the less gene-rich (less conserved) cluster; (ii) has a reduced field of embryonic expression; or (iii) is a pseudogene. The relationship between the decrease of GC level and the loss of conservation and function of one of the paralogous genes from twin clusters is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Absence of radius and ulna in mice lacking hoxa-11 and hoxd-11.

Mice with targeted disruptions in Hox genes have been generated to evaluate the role of the Hox complex in determining the mammalian body plan. This complex of 38 genes encodes transcription factors that specify regional information along the embryonic axes. Early in vertebrate evolution an ancestral complex shared with invertebrates was duplicated twice to give rise to the four linkage groups (Hox A, B, C and D). As a consequence, corresponding genes on the separate linkage groups, called paralogues, are most closely related to each other. Based on sequence similarities, the Hox genes have been subdivided into 13 paralogous groups. The five most 5' groups (Hox 9-13) pattern the posterior region of the vertebrate embryo and the appendicular skeleton. Mice with individual mutations in the paralogous genes hoxa-11 and hoxd-11 have been described. By breeding these two strains together we have generated double mutants which have dramatic phenotypes not apparent in mice homozygous for the individual mutations. The radius and the ulna of the forelimb are almost entirely eliminated, the axial skeleton shows homeotic transformations, and there are severe kidney defects not present in either single mutant. The limb and axial phenotypes are quantitative: as more mutant alleles are added to the genotype, the phenotype becomes progressively more severe. The appendicular skeleton defects suggest that paralogous Hox genes function together to specify limb outgrowth and patterning along the proximodistal axis.

Alleles↗
PubMed1992

An evolutionary model for the duplication and divergence of esterase genes in Drosophila.

The esterase 5 (Est-5 = gene, EST 5 = protein) enzyme in Drosophila pseudoobscura is encoded by one of three paralogous genes, Est-5A, Est-5B, and Est-5C, that are tightly clustered on the right arm of the X chromosome. The homologous Est-6 locus in Drosophila melanogaster has only one paralogous neighbor, Est-P. Comparisons of coding and flanking DNA sequences among the three D. pseudoobscura and two D. melanogaster genes suggest that two paralogous genes were present before the divergence of D. pseudoobscura from D. melanogaster and that, later, a second duplication occurred in D. pseudoobscura. Nucleotide sequences of the coding regions of the three D. pseudoobscura genes showed 78-85% similarity in pairwise comparisons, whereas the relatedness between Est-6 and Est-P was only 67%. The higher degree of conservation in D. pseudoobscura likely results from the comparatively recent divergence of Est-5B and Est-5C and from possible gene conversion events between Est-5A and Est-5B. Analyses of silent and replacement site differences in the two exons of the paralogous and orthologous genes in each species indicate that common selective forces are acting on all five loci. Further evidence for common purifying selective constraints comes from the conservation of hydropathy profiles and proposed catalytic residues. However, different levels of amino acid substitution between the paralogous genes in D. melanogaster relative to those in D. pseudoobscura suggest that interspecific differences in selection also exist.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Molecular evolution of nitrogen fixation: the evolutionary history of the nifD, nifK, nifE, and nifN genes.

The pairs of nitrogen fixation genes nifDK and nifEN encode for the alpha and beta subunits of nitrogenase and for the two subunits of the NifNE protein complex, involved in the biosynthesis of the FeMo cofactor, respectively. Comparative analysis of the amino acid sequences of the four NifD, NifK, NifE, and NifN in several archaeal and bacterial diazotrophs showed extensive sequence similarity between them, suggesting that their encoding genes constitute a novel paralogous gene family. We propose a two-step model to reconstruct the possible evolutionary history of the four genes. Accordingly, an ancestor gene gave rise, by an in-tandem paralogous duplication event followed by divergence, to an ancestral bicistronic operon; the latter, in turn, underwent a paralogous operon duplication event followed by evolutionary divergence leading to the ancestors of the present-day nifDK and nifEN operons. Both these paralogous duplication events very likely predated the appearance of the last universal common ancestor. The possible role of the ancestral gene and operon in nitrogen fixation is also discussed.

Dinitrogenase Reductase↗
PubMed1993

Mice homozygous for a targeted disruption of Hoxd-3 (Hox-4.1) exhibit anterior transformations of the first and second cervical vertebrae, the atlas and the axis.

Gene targeting in embryo-derived stem (ES) cells was used to generate mice with a disruption in the homeobox-containing gene Hoxd-3 (Hox-4.1). Mice homozygous for this mutation show a radically remodeled craniocervical joint. The anterior arch of the atlas is transformed to an extension of the basioccipital bone of the skull. The lateral masses of the atlas also assume a morphology more closely resembling the exoccipitals and, to a variable extent, fuse with the exoccipitals. Formation of the second cervical vertebra, the axis, is also affected. The dens and the superior facets are deleted, and the axis shows 'atlas-like' characteristics. An unexpected observation is that different parts of the same vertebra are differentially affected by the loss of Hoxd-3 function. Some parts are deleted, others are homeotically transformed to more anterior structures. These observations suggest that one role of Hox genes may be to differentially control the proliferation rates of the mesenchymal condensations that give rise to the vertebral cartilages. Within the mouse Hox complex, paralogous genes not only encode very similar proteins but also often exhibit very similar expression patterns. Therefore, it has been postulated that paralogous Hox genes would perform similar roles. Surprisingly, however, no tissues or structures are affected in common by mutations in the two paralogous genes, Hoxa-3 and Hoxd-3.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Isolation of novel GRO genes and a phylogenetic analysis of the CXC chemokine subfamily in mammals.

Approximately 15 different alpha, or CXC, chemokines have thus far been isolated from 11 species of mammals. Among the best studied chemokines are the 12 human proteins that are encoded by 11 paralogous genes. In order to better understand the evolution and function of this group of genes, we isolated and characterized six novel GRO and GRO-related cDNA sequences from the cow (Bos taurus), the sheep (Ovis aries), the rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and the guinea pig (Cavia porcellus). The amino acid sequence of the diverged guinea pig GRO or KC gene is only 50%-60% similar to presumed orthologs from other species, while the sheep and cow GRO proteins are 90%-99% similar to each other. The presence of multiple GRO genes in the cow, the rabbit, and the sheep is consistent with what has been observed for humans. Phylogenetic analyses of amino acid sequences from 44 proteins indicate that genes orthologous to many of the 11 known from humans exist in other species. One such gene, interleukin 8, or IL8, has been isolated from nine species, including the rodent guinea pig; however, this gene is absent in the rat and the mouse, indicating a unique gene loss event in the rat/mouse (muroid rodent) lineage. The KC (or MIP2) gene of rodents appears to be orthologous to the GRO gene found in other taxonomic orders. Combined evidence from different sources suggests that IP10 and MIG share sister taxon relationships on the evolutionary tree, while the remaining paralogous genes represent independent lineages, with limited evidence for kinship between them. This observation indicates that these genes originated nearly contemporaneously via a series of gene duplication events. Relative-rate tests for synonymous and nonsynonymous nucleotide substitutions in the KC and IL8 genes did not detect rate heterogeneity; however, there are several notable features regarding the IL8 genes. For example, the IL8 proteins from two Old World monkeys are as similar to one another as they are to the IL8 protein from humans, and all observed nucleotide differences between the IL8 genes of the two monkeys cause amino acid changes; in other words, there are no synonymous differences between them.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Close linkage of retinoic acid receptor genes with homeobox- and keratin-encoding genes on paralogous segments of mouse chromosomes 11 and 15.

Retinoic acid is essential for normal development and growth of structures such as head and limbs, and it can act as morphogen or teratogen. Retinoic acid induces expression of genes such as the homeobox genes and keratin type I and type II genes. Retinoic acid receptors are nuclear transcription factors that play a key role in retinoid physiology. As part of the characterization of retinoic acid receptor gene family, linkage of genes encoding the three receptors was determined by using interspecific backcross and recombinant inbred strain analysis of restriction fragment variants. Retinoic acid receptor alpha is located on mouse Chromosome (Chr) 11 near the homeobox-2 complex and the keratin type I gene complex, whereas retinoic acid receptor gamma is on mouse Chr 15 near the homeobox-3 complex and the keratin type II complex. Close genetic proximity of these functionally related genes may be significant. We confirmed assignment of retinoic acid receptor beta to the centromeric portion of Chr 14. These linkage assignments provide further evidence for duplicated segments in the mouse genome.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Age distribution of human gene families shows significant roles of both large- and small-scale duplications in vertebrate evolution.

The classical (two-round) hypothesis of vertebrate genome duplication proposes two successive whole-genome duplication(s) (polyploidizations) predating the origin of fishes, a view now being seriously challenged. As the debate largely concerns the relative merits of the 'big-bang mode' theory (large-scale duplication) and the 'continuous mode' theory (constant creation by small-scale duplications), we tested whether a significant proportion of paralogous genes in the contemporary human genome was indeed generated in the early stage of vertebrate evolution. After an extensive search of major databases, we dated 1,739 gene duplication events from the phylogenetic analysis of 749 vertebrate gene families. We found a pattern characterized by two waves (I, II) and an ancient component. Wave I represents a recent gene family expansion by tandem or segmental duplications, whereas wave II, a rapid paralogous gene increase in the early stage of vertebrate evolution, supports the idea of genome duplication(s) (the big-bang mode). Further analysis indicated that large- and small-scale gene duplications both make a significant contribution during the early stage of vertebrate evolution to build the current hierarchy of the human proteome.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Metabolism and evolution of Haemophilus influenzae deduced from a whole-genome comparison with Escherichia coli.

BACKGROUND: The 1.83 Megabase (Mb) sequence of the Haemophilus influenzae chromosome, the first completed genome sequence of a cellular life form, has been recently reported. Approximately 75 % of the 4.7 Mb genome sequence of Escherichia coli is also available. The life styles of the two bacteria are very different - H. influenzae is an obligate parasite that lives in human upper respiratory mucosa and can be cultivated only on rich media, whereas E. coli is a saprophyte that can grow on minimal media. A detailed comparison of the protein products encoded by these two genomes is expected to provide valuable insights into bacterial cell physiology and genome evolution. RESULTS: We describe the results of computer analysis of the amino-acid sequences of 1703 putative proteins encoded by the complete genome of H. influenzae. We detected sequence similarity to proteins in current databases for 92 % of the H. influenzae protein sequences, and at least a general functional prediction was possible for 83 %. A comparison of the H. influenzae protein sequences with those of 3010 proteins encoded by the sequenced 75 % of the E. coli genome revealed 1128 pairs of apparent orthologs, with an average of 59 % identity. In contrast to the high similarity between orthologs, the genome organization and the functional repertoire of genes in the two bacteria were remarkably different. The smaller genome size of H. influenzae is explained, to a large extent, by a reduction in the number of paralogous genes. There was no long range colinearity between the E. coli and H. influenzae gene orders, but over 70 % of the orthologous genes were found in short conserved strings, only about half of which were operons in E. coli. Superposition of the H. influenzae enzyme repertoire upon the known E. coli metabolic pathways allowed us to reconstruct similar and alternative pathways in H. influenzae and provides an explanation for the known nutritional requirements. CONCLUSIONS: By comparing proteins encoded by the two bacterial genomes, we have shown that extensive gene shuffling and variation in the extent of gene paralogy are major trends in bacterial evolution; this comparison has also allowed us to deduce crucial aspects of the largely uncharacterized metabolism of H. influenzae.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed2006

Characterization of the class IV homeodomain-Leucine Zipper gene family in Arabidopsis.

The Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) genome contains 16 genes belonging to the class IV homeodomain-Leucine zipper gene family. These include GLABRA2, ANTHOCYANINLESS2, FWA, ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA MERISTEM LAYER1 (ATML1), and PROTODERMAL FACTOR2 (PDF2). Our previous study revealed that atml1 pdf2 double mutants have severe defects in the shoot epidermal cell differentiation. Here, we have characterized additional members of this gene family, which we designated HOMEODOMAIN GLABROUS1 (HDG1) through HDG12. Analyses of transgenic Arabidopsis plants carrying the gene-specific promoter fused to the bacterial beta-glucuronidase reporter gene revealed that some of the promoters have high activities in the epidermal layer of the shoot apical meristem and developing shoot organs, while others are temporarily active during reproductive organ development. Expression profiles of highly conserved paralogous gene pairs within the family were found to be not necessarily overlapping. Analyses of T-DNA insertion mutants of these HDG genes revealed that all mutants except hdg11 alleles exhibit no abnormal phenotypes. hdg11 mutants show excess branching of the trichome. This phenotype is enhanced in hdg11 hdg12 double mutants. Double mutants were constructed for other paralogous gene pairs and genes within the same subfamily. However, novel phenotypes were observed only for hdg3 atml1 and hdg3 pdf2 mutants that both exhibited defects in cotyledon development. These observations suggest that some of the class IV homeodomain-Leucine zipper members act redundantly with other members of the family during various aspects of cell differentiation. DNA-binding sites were determined for two of the family members using polymerase chain reaction-assisted DNA selection from random oligonucleotides with their recombinant proteins. The binding sites were found to be similar to those previously identified for ATML1 and PDF2, which correspond to the pseudopalindromic sequence 5'-GCATTAAATGC-3' as the preferential binding site.

Amino Acid Sequence↗