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The novel gene CpEdi-9 from the resurrection plant C. plantagineum encodes a hydrophilic protein and is expressed in mature seeds as well as in response to dehydration in leaf phloem tissues

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Abstract

The resurrection plant Craterostigma plantagineum Hochst. is used as an experimental system to investigate desiccation tolerance in higher plants. A search for genes activated during early stages of dehydration identified the gene CpEdi-9, which is expressed in mature seeds and in response to dehydration in the phloem cells of vascular tissues of leaves. Elements for the tissue-specific expression pattern reside in the isolated promoter of the CpEdi-9 gene, as shown through the analysis of transgenic plants. The CpEdi-9 promoter could be a suitable tool for expressing genes in the vascular system of dehydrated plants. CpEdi-9 encodes a small (10 kDa) hydrophilic protein, which does not have significant sequence homologies to known genes. The predicted protein CpEDI-9 shares some physicochemical features with LEA proteins from plants and a nematode. Based on the unique expression pattern and on the nucleotide sequence we propose that CpEdi-9 defines a new class of hydrophilic proteins that are supposed to contribute to cellular protection during dehydration. This group of proteins may have evolved because desiccation tolerance requires the abundant expression of protective proteins during early stages of dehydration in all tissues.

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Abbreviations

ABA :

Abscisic acid

ABRE :

ABA-responsive element

Edi :

Early dehydration induced

GUS :

Glucuronidase

LEA :

Late embryogenesis abundant

MU :

Methylumbelliferone

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Acknowledgments

We thank F. Salamini for advice during the work and critically reading the manuscript, B. Eilts for technical assistance, S. Berger for help with preparing the manuscript and C.J. Smith-Espinoza for performing the C. plantagineum salt treatments. M.-J.R. was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology and a research contract from the EU Biotech Programme (BIO-CT98-5006).

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Author notes

  1. Maria Jesus Rodrigo

    Present address: Departamento de Ciencia de Alimentos, Instituto de Agroquímica y Tecnología de Alimentos (IATA-CSIC), Apartado correos 73, Burjassot, 46100, Valencia, Spain

  2. Anne-Sophie Blervacq

    Present address: Physiologie de la différenciation végétale, UPRES3569–IFR118–ERT 1016, Université des Sciences et Technologies de Lille, Bâtiment SN2–3ème étage, 59650, Villeneuve dÀSCQ Cedex, France

  3. Dorothea Bartels

    Present address: Institut für Molekulare Physiologie und Biotechnologie der Pflanzen, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Kirschallee 1, 53115, Bonn, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Max Planck Institut für Züchtungsforschung, Carl von Linné Weg 10, 50829, Köln, Germany

    Maria Jesus Rodrigo, Christine Bockel, Anne-Sophie Blervacq & Dorothea Bartels

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  1. Maria Jesus Rodrigo
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  2. Christine Bockel
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Correspondence to Dorothea Bartels.

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This article is dedicated to Prof. Dr. Francesco Salamini on the occasion of his 65th birthday and his departure from the Max Planck Institute in Köln

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Rodrigo, M.J., Bockel, C., Blervacq, AS. et al. The novel gene CpEdi-9 from the resurrection plant C. plantagineum encodes a hydrophilic protein and is expressed in mature seeds as well as in response to dehydration in leaf phloem tissues. Planta 219, 579–589 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-004-1264-z

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