Organization and post-transcriptional processing of the psb B operon from chloroplasts of Populus deltoides

• Published in: Current genetics 1999-09, Vol.36 (3), p.165-172
• Main Authors: Dixit, R, Trivedi, P.K, Nath, P, Sane, P.V
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: alternative splicing; Amino Acid Sequence; amino acid sequences; Base Sequence; Blotting, Northern; chloroplast DNA; Chloroplasts - genetics; cytochrome b; cytochromes; genbank/y13328; gene expression; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; genes; genomics; Light-Harvesting Protein Complexes; messenger RNA; Models, Genetic; Molecular Sequence Data; nucleotide sequences; open reading frames; Operon; Photosynthetic Reaction Center Complex Proteins - genetics; photosystem II; Photosystem II Protein Complex; plant proteins; Plant Proteins - genetics; Populus deltoides; promoter regions; Recombinant Proteins - genetics; RNA Processing, Post-Transcriptional - genetics; Sequence Analysis, DNA; transcription (genetics); Trees - genetics
• ISSN: 0172-8083; 1432-0983
• DOI: 10.1007/s002940050487

Chloroplast genes are typically organized into polycistronic transcription units that give rise to complex sets of mono- and oligo-cistronic overlapping RNAs through a series of processing steps. The psbB operon contains genes for the PSII (psbB, psbT, psbH) and cytochrome b(6)f (petB and petD) complexes which are needed in different amounts during chloroplast biogenesis. The functional significance of gene organization in this polycistronic unit, containing information for two different complexes, is not known and is of interest. To determine the organization and expression of these complexes, studies have been carried out on crop plants by different groups, but not much information is known about trees. We present the nucleotide sequences of PSII genes and RNA profiles of the genes located in the psbB operon from Populus deltoides, a tree species. Although the gene organization of this operon in P. deltoides is similar to that in other species, a few variations have been observed in the processing scheme.