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Molecular analysis of the CRINKLY4 gene family in Arabidopsis thaliana

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Abstract

The maize (Zea mays L.) CRINKLY4 (CR4) gene encodes a serine/threonine receptor-like kinase that controls an array of developmental processes in the plant and endosperm. The Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. genome encodes an ortholog of CR4, ACR4, and four CRINKLY4-RELATED (CRR) proteins: AtCRR1, AtCRR2, AtCRR3 and AtCRK1. The available genome sequence of rice (Oryza sativa L.) encodes a CR4 ortholog, OsCR4, and four CRR proteins: OsCRR1, OsCRR2, OsCRR3 and OsCRR4, not necessarily orthologous to the Arabidopsis CRRs. A phylogenetic study showed that AtCRR1 and AtCRR2 form a clade closest to the CR4 group while all the other CRRs form a separate cluster. The five Arabidopsis genes are differentially expressed in various tissues. A construct formed by fusion of the ACR4 promoter and the GUS reporter, ACR4::GUS, is expressed primarily in developing tissues of the shoot. The ACR4 cytoplasmic domain functions in vitro as a serine/threonine kinase, while the AtCRR1 and AtCRR2 kinases are not active. The ability of ACR4 to phosphorylate AtCRR2 suggests that they might function in the same signal transduction pathway. T-DNA insertions were obtained in ACR4, AtCRR1, AtCRR2, AtCRR3 and AtCRK1. Mutations in acr4 show a phenotype restricted to the integuments and seed coat, suggesting that Arabidopsis might contain a redundant function that is lacking in maize. The lack of obvious mutant phenotypes in the crr mutants indicates they are not required for the hypothetical redundant function.

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Abbreviations

CR4 :

CRINKLY4

CRR :

CRINKLY4-RELATED

GST :

Glutathione S-transferase

GUS :

β-Glucuronidase

RCC1 :

Regulator of chromosome condensation 1

RLK :

Receptor-like kinase

SAM :

Shoot apical meristem

TNFR :

Tumor necrosis factor receptor

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Becraft lab for discussions and critical reading of the manuscript. We are grateful to Syngenta and Torrey Mesa Research Institute for providing T-DNA mutants and access to their rice genomic sequence, Frans Tax and the Functional Genomics of Plant Phosphorylation project for screening for a T-DNA mutant, the Salk Institute Genomic Analysis Laboratory and the Arabidopsis Biological Resource Center for providing T-DNA mutant seeds, and the Bessey Microscopy Facility at Iowa State University for technical assistance and sample preparation. This research was funded by grants DE-FG02-98ER20303 from the U.S. DOE Energy Biosciences and IBN:96-04426 from the U.S. National Science Foundation to P.W.B., and by grant No. R01-2000-000-00195-0 from the Basic Research Program of the Korea Science & Engineering Foundation to S-G.S.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Genetics, Development and Cell Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA

    Xueyuan Cao, Kejian Li, Sang-Gon Suh, Tao Guo & Philip W. Becraft

  2. Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA

    Philip W. Becraft

  3. Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Program, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA

    Xueyuan Cao, Kejian Li & Philip W. Becraft

  4. Interdepartmental Genetics Program, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA

    Tao Guo

  5. Department of Horticulture, Yeungnam University, Kyongsan, Republic of Korea

    Sang-Gon Suh

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  1. Xueyuan Cao
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Correspondence to Philip W. Becraft.

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Cao, X., Li, K., Suh, SG. et al. Molecular analysis of the CRINKLY4 gene family in Arabidopsis thaliana. Planta 220, 645–657 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-004-1378-3

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