Abstract
The pollen extracellular matrix contains proteins mediating species specificity and components needed for efficient pollination. We identified all proteins >10 kilodaltons in the Arabidopsis pollen coating and showed that most of the corresponding genes reside in two genomic clusters. One cluster encodes six lipases, whereas the other contains six lipid-binding oleosin genes, including GRP17, a gene that promotes efficient pollination. Individual oleosins exhibit extensive divergence between ecotypes, but the entire cluster remains intact. Analysis of the syntenic region in Brassica oleracea revealed even greater divergence, but a similar clustering of the genes. Such allelic flexibility may promote speciation in plants.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
MeSH terms
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Alleles
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Amino Acid Motifs
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Amino Acid Sequence
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Arabidopsis / chemistry
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Arabidopsis / genetics*
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Arabidopsis Proteins*
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Brassica / chemistry
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Brassica / genetics
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Expressed Sequence Tags
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Genes, Plant
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Genetic Variation
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Genome, Plant
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Lipase / chemistry*
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Lipase / genetics
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Molecular Sequence Data
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Multigene Family*
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Phosphotransferases / chemistry
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Phosphotransferases / genetics
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Plant Proteins / chemistry*
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Plant Proteins / genetics
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Pollen / chemistry*
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Protein Structure, Tertiary
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Proteome*
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Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
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Sequence Alignment
Substances
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Arabidopsis Proteins
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Plant Proteins
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Proteome
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oleosin protein, Arabidopsis
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Phosphotransferases
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Lipase