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Regulation of the β-hydroxyacyl ACP dehydratase gene of Picea mariana by alternative splicing

  • Physiology and Biochemistry
  • Published:
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Abstract

The gene for β-hydroxyacyl ACP dehydratase, a de novo fatty acid biosynthetic enzyme, was cloned from Picea mariana (black spruce) and consists of five exons and four introns. The first intron of the β-hydroxyacyl ACP dehydratase mRNA is alternatively spliced. Retention of intron 1 in splice variants results in truncation of the β-hydroxyacyl ACP dehydratase ORF at a premature termination codon. In addition, splicing of intron 1 was found to be associated with cold temperature. mRNAs retaining intron 1 increase with seed imbibition at 22°C but not 4°C, whereas, splicing of intron 1 increases in winter weeks with temperatures below freezing. These results provide evidence that alternative splicing may also contribute to regulation of lipid biosynthesis in Picea mariana.

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Abbreviations

ACC:

Acetyl CoA carboxylase

ACP:

Acyl carrier protein

DAI:

Days after imbibition

DDRT-PCR:

Differential display reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction

GST:

Glutathione-S-transferase

KAS:

β-Ketoacyl ACP synthase

mRNA:

Messenger RNA

ORF:

ORF

PCR:

Polymerase chain reaction

RT-PCR:

Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction

uORF:

Upstream ORF

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Kathleen Forbes and Nancy MacAfee for providing technical assistance, Dale Simpson and Bernie Daigle at the National Tree Seed Centre for providing Picea mariana seed material, and Weiming Wang and Sandra Tucker at J.D. Irving Ltd. for providing somatic embryo tissue culture material and technical assistance.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Canadian Forest Service, Natural Resources Canada, P.O. Box 4000, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5P7, Canada

    Helen H. Tai, Martin Williams, Abhinav Iyengar, Jessica Yeates & Tannis Beardmore

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  1. Helen H. Tai
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  2. Martin Williams
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  3. Abhinav Iyengar
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  4. Jessica Yeates
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  5. Tannis Beardmore
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Correspondence to Helen H. Tai.

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Communicated by J. Zou

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Tai, H.H., Williams, M., Iyengar, A. et al. Regulation of the β-hydroxyacyl ACP dehydratase gene of Picea mariana by alternative splicing. Plant Cell Rep 26, 105–113 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-006-0213-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00299-006-0213-7

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