CELL WALL INVERTASE 4 is required for nectar production in Arabidopsis.

ABSTRACT: To date, no genes have been reported to directly affect the de novo production of floral nectar. In an effort to identify genes involved in nectar production, the Affymetrix((R)) ATH1 GeneChip was previously used to examine global gene expression profiles in Arabidopsis thaliana nectaries. One of the genes displaying highly enriched expression in nectaries was CELL WALL INVERTASE 4 (AtCWINV4, At2g36190), which encodes an enzyme that putatively catalyses the hydrolysis of sucrose into glucose and fructose. RT-PCR was used to confirm the nectary-enriched expression of AtCWINV4, as well as an orthologue from Brassica rapa. To probe biological function, two independent Arabidopsis cwinv4 T-DNA mutants were isolated. Unlike wild-type plants, cwinv4 lines did not produce nectar. While overall ne

SUBMITTER: Ruhlmann JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2803206 | biostudies-literature | 2010

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature