A putative Arabidopsis thaliana glycosyltransferase, At4g01220, which is closely related to three plant cell wall-specific xylosyltransferases, is differentially expressed spatially and temporally

• Published in: Plant science (Limerick) 2011-03, Vol.180 (3), p.470-479
• Main Authors: Fangel, Jonatan U., Petersen, Bent L., Jensen, Niels B., Willats, William G.T., Bacic, Antony, Egelund, Jack
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arabidopsis - enzymology; Arabidopsis - genetics; Arabidopsis Proteins - genetics; Arabidopsis Proteins - metabolism; Benzamides - pharmacology; Biological and medical sciences; CAZy; Cell Wall - metabolism; Cellulose - biosynthesis; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Genes, Reporter; Glycosyltransferase; Golgi Apparatus; GT-family-77; Nicotiana - genetics; Nicotiana - metabolism; Pectins - biosynthesis; Pentosyltransferases - genetics; Pentosyltransferases - metabolism; Plant cell wall; Plants, Genetically Modified; Transfection; Type II membrane proteins; UDP Xylose-Protein Xylosyltransferase; Up-Regulation; β-Glucronidase
• ISSN: 0168-9452; 1873-2259
• DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2010.11.002

▶ We characterized At4g01220, a putative Arabidopsis thaliana encoding glycosyltransferases of CAZy GT-family-77. ▶ Presented data that provide insights into the expression, regulation and sub-cellular location of At4g01220. ▶In silico expression analysis and array data suggests involvement in cell wall biosynthesis with pectin being a prime candidate. Plant cell wall polysaccharides are amongst the most complex, heterogeneous and abundant bio-molecules on earth. This makes the biosynthetic enzymes, namely the glycosyltransferases and polysaccharide synthases, important research targets in plant science and biotechnology. As an initial step to characterize At4g01220, a putative Arabidopsis thaliana encoding glycosyltransferases in CAZy GT-family-77 that is similar to three known xylosyltransferases involved in the biosynthesis of the pectic polysaccharide, rhamnogalacturonan II, we conducted an expression analysis. In transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants containing a fusion between the At4g01220 promoter and the gusA reporter gene we found the expression to be spatially and developmentally regulated. Analysis of Nicotiana benthamiana transfected with the At2g01220::YFP fusion protein revealed that the fusion protein resided in a Brefeldin A-sensitive compartment consistent with a sub-cellular location in the Golgi apparatus. In addition, in silico expression analysis from the Genevestigator database revealed that At4g01220 was up-regulated upon treatment with isoxaben, an inhibitor of cellulose synthesis, which, together with a co-expression analysis that identified a number of plant cell wall co-related biosynthetic genes, suggests involvement in cell wall biosynthesis with pectin being a prime candidate. The data presented provide insights into the expression, sub-cellular location and regulation of At4g01220 under various conditions and may help elucidate its specific function.