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Spatial and temporal expression of Cab mRNAs in cotyledons of the developing soybean seedling

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Abstract

Changes in the temporal and spatial distribution of the mRNAs for the chlorophyll-a/b-binding-protein gene (Cab) in cotyledons from developing soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) seedlings were studied. Cab mRNAs could be detected in the polysomal polyadenylated poly(A)+ mRNA population of cotyledons within 3 d after start of imbibition, prior to their emergence from soil, and declined prior to the onset of cotyledonary senescence. The Cab mRNA levels were compared to the levels of rbcS (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase small subunit) mRNAs in cotyledons and distinct differences in their expression programs were noted. Quantitative analyses with S1 nuclease were used to monitor the accumulation of the mRNAs of individual members of the Cab gene family. Cab 3, Cab 4, and Cab 5 mRNAs were differentially regulated in the cotyledons during post-germinative development. Cab 4 was the most abundant Cab gene mRNA representing approx. 4.3% of the cotyledonary polysomal poly(A)+ mRNA population. In-situ hybridizations using methacrylate-imbedded tissue and 3H-antisense- and -sense-strand RNA probes were used to determine the qualitative and quantitative distribution of Cab RNAs in cotyledonary cells. Cab RNAs were most abundant in the palisade cells. These results indicate an interaction of both developmental and environmental cues in modulating the expression of the Cab gene family in soybean cotyledons.

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Abbreviations

Cab :

genes for chlorophyll-a/b-binding protein

bp:

base pair(s)

poly(A)+ RNA:

polyadenylated RNA

rbcS:

ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate-carboxylase small-subunit gene

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Author notes

  1. Y. C. Chang

    Present address: Department of Genetics, University of Georgia, 30602, Athens, GA, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, University of California, 92521, Riverside, CA, USA

    Y. C. Chang & L. L. Walling

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  1. Y. C. Chang
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  2. L. L. Walling
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Additional information

The authors wish to thank Drs. Flizabeth Bray, Bradley Hyman and Laurie Rosenberg for their helpful comments on this manuscript, and to Dr. Elizabeth Lord and members her laboratory who trained Y.C.C. in tissue sectioning. We would like to thank Dr. B. Hyman for use of his laser densitometer. Y.C.C. was a student in the Univeristy of California Riverside Genetics Graduate Group program; this paper is in partial fulfillment of the dissertation requirements for a Ph.D. degree in Genetics for Y.C.C. This work was supported by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Grant 86-CRCR-1-2238 and a McKnight Foundation Grant awarded to L.L.W.

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Chang, Y.C., Walling, L.L. Spatial and temporal expression of Cab mRNAs in cotyledons of the developing soybean seedling. Planta 186, 262–272 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00196256

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