Poster: Reproductive Development

Abs # 460: A Seed-specific Expression Gene RS6, Encodes a Putative Cupin Domain Protein, Is Essential for Seed Development in Oryza sativa L.

Presenter:	zhang, xian sheng , zhangxs@sdau.edu.cn
Authors	zhang, xian sheng  (A)   wang, xia  (A)   li, quan zi  (A)   huo, sheng nan  (A)   li, xing guo  (A)   ye, bao xing  (A)
Affiliations:	(A): college of life science
Web Site:	http://www.sdau.edu.cn

Besides Arabidopsis, Rice is another valuable plant species to study seed development because of its importance in agriculture and smaller genome in Cereals. To date, the little is known on the molecular mechanism of seed development in Rice although some data have been accumulated. To identify the genes which are responsible for seed deveopment, we have constructed a Rice seed cDNA library. A cDNA clone RS6 (Rice Seed 6) has been isolated from the library via microarray screening. Sequence analysis indicates that RS6 may encode a putative cupin domain protein. Northern hybridization demonstrated that its mRNA accumulated in the embryo and endosperm tissues temporarily. Further, it is shown that the development of embyo sac is inhibited in the antisense transgenic plants, failing to form normal seeds. Our data provide an important information to understand the function of cupin proteins during seed development.