Molecular evolution of the chalcone synthase gene family and identification of the expressed copy in flower petal tissue of Viola cornuta

Chalcone synthase (CHS), the first committed enzyme in the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway, is commonly encoded by multi-gene families with select members of these families accounting for the majority of expression. We have examined the CHS gene family in Viola cornuta, a plant whose flowers undergo...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plant science (Limerick) 2005-04, Vol.168 (4), p.1127-1134
Main Authors: Farzad, Maryam, Soria-Hernanz, David F., Altura, Melissa, Hamilton, Matthew B., Weiss, Martha R., Elmendorf, Heidi G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
anthocyanidins
Anthocyanin biosynthesis
Biological and medical sciences
biosynthesis
Chalcone synthase
codons
corolla
Floral color change
flowers
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Gene family
genes
Genes. Genome
Molecular and cellular biology
Molecular genetics
molecular sequence data
naringenin-chalcone synthase
nucleotide sequences
Nucleotide substitution
plant proteins
Viola
Viola cornuta
Violaceae
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Chalcone synthase (CHS), the first committed enzyme in the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway, is commonly encoded by multi-gene families with select members of these families accounting for the majority of expression. We have examined the CHS gene family in Viola cornuta, a plant whose flowers undergo ontogenetic color change. Using both RNA and RNA/DNA samples isolated from floral tissues at different pigment stages, we obtained 14 unique sequences from 60 total clones of a 288 bp fragment from the catalytic region of CHS. The V. cornuta sequences were monophyletic when compared to CHS orthologs from other taxa. Substitution models generally indicated unequal rates of transition and transversion as well as significant rate variation among sites. With a Tamura-Nei correction, nucleotide divergence ranged from 0.3 to 10.6% with the vast majority as synonymous changes. The nucleotide divergence pattern suggests designation of three V. cornuta CHS clades; based on divergence of CHS orthologs, these clades are consistent with three CHS orthologs in V. cornuta. Sequences from only a single clade were found to be expressed in all three floral pigment stages.
ISSN:0168-9452
1873-2259
DOI:10.1016/j.plantsci.2004.12.014