RESUMEN

Inorganic polyphosphate (polyP) accumulates in acidocalcisomes, acidic calcium stores that have been found from bacteria to human cells. Proton pumps, such as the vacuolar proton pyrophosphatase (V-H(+)-PPase or VP1), the vacuolar proton ATPase (V-H(+)-ATPase) or both, maintain their acidity. A vacuolar transporter chaperone (VTC) complex is involved in the synthesis and translocation of polyP to these organelles in several eukaryotes, such as yeast, trypanosomatids, Apicomplexan and algae. Studies in trypanosomatids have revealed the role of polyP and acidocalcisomes in osmoregulation and calcium signalling.

Asunto(s)

Calcio/metabolismo , Orgánulos/metabolismo , Polifosfatos/metabolismo , Animales , Humanos , Canales Iónicos/metabolismo , Proteínas de Transporte de Membrana/metabolismo , Osmorregulación

RESUMEN

WRKY transcription factors have been extensively characterized in the past 20 years, but in wheat, studies on WRKY genes and their function are lagging behind many other species. To explore the function of wheat WRKY genes, we identified a TaWRKY68 gene from a common wheat cultivar. It encodes a protein comprising 313 amino acids which harbors 19 conserved motifs or active sites. Gene expression patterns were determined by analyzing microarray data of TaWRKY68 in wheat and of orthologous genes from maize, rice and barley using Genevestigator. TaWRKY68 orthologs were identified and clustered using DELTA-BLAST and COBALT programs available at NCBI. The results showed that these genes, which are expressed in all tissues tested, had relatively higher levels in the roots and were up-regulated in response to biotic stresses. Bioinformatics results were confirmed by RT-PCR experiments using wheat plants infected by Agrobacterium tumefaciens and Blumeria graminis, or treated with Deoxynivalenol, a Fusarium graminearum-induced mycotoxin in wheat or barley. In summary, TaWRKY68 functions differ during plant developmental stages and might be representing a hub gene function in wheat responses to various biotic stresses. It was also found that including data from major cereal genes in the bioinformatics analysis gave more accurate and comprehensive predictions of wheat gene functions.