Multiple isoforms of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase in the Orchidaceae (subtribe Oncidiinae): implications for the evolution of crassulacean acid metabolism.

ABSTRACT: Phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) catalyses the initial fixation of atmospheric CO2 into oxaloacetate and subsequently malate. Nocturnal accumulation of malic acid within the vacuole of photosynthetic cells is a typical feature of plants that perform crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). PEPC is a ubiquitous plant enzyme encoded by a small gene family, and each member encodes an isoform with specialized function. CAM-specific PEPC isoforms probably evolved from ancestral non-photosynthetic isoforms by gene duplication events and subsequent acquisition of transcriptional control elements that mediate increased leaf-specific or photosynthetic-tissue-specific mRNA expression. To understand the patterns of functional diversification related to the expression of CAM, ppc gene families and ph

SUBMITTER: Silvera K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4085970 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature