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Functional Plant Biology Functional Plant Biology Society
Plant function and evolutionary biology
RESEARCH ARTICLE

The five families of sucrose-phosphate synthase genes in Saccharum spp. are differentially expressed in leaves and stem

C. P. L. Grof A B E , C. T. E. So A C , J. M. Perroux A B , G. D. Bonnett A B and R. I. Forrester D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A CSIRO Plant Industry, Queensland Bioscience Precinct, 306 Carmody Road, St Lucia, Qld 4067, Australia.

B Cooperative Research Centre for Sugar Industry Innovation through Biotechnology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia.

C School of Computer Science and Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.

D CSIRO Plant Industry, GPO Box 1600, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia.

E Corresponding author. Email: Chris.Grof@csiro.au

Functional Plant Biology 33(6) 605-610 https://doi.org/10.1071/FP05283
Submitted: 24 November 2005  Accepted: 7 March 2006   Published: 1 June 2006

Abstract

Sucrose-phosphate synthase (SPS) is a key enzyme in the pathway of sucrose synthesis. Five different gene families encoding SPS have been reported in the Poaceae [Castleden CK, Aoki N, Gillespie VJ, MacRae EA, Quick WP, Buchner P, Foyer CH, Furbank RT, Lunn JE (2004) Evolution and function of the sucrose-phosphate synthase gene families in wheat and other grasses. Plant Physiology 135, 1753–1764]. Expression of the five families in leaf and stem tissues of Saccharum spp. at different stages of development was determined by quantitative real-time PCR. The type B and C families of SPS genes were predominantly expressed in both immature and mature leaves, whereas the two subfamilies making up the type D family were expressed at similar levels in all tissues examined. In the type A family, expression was lowest in leaves and increased from the meristem region down to internode 7 of the stem.

Keywords: gene expression, Saccharum, sucrose-phosphate synthase, SPS, sugarcane.


Acknowledgments

Many thanks to Donna Glassop, Mayling Goode, Janine Jarmey, Anne Rae, Hayati Iskandar and Mark Jackson for growing and harvesting sugarcane plant material. Thanks also to Anne Rae and Rosanne Casu for helpful comments on this manuscript. Thanks to Troy Stephenson for performing the sugar extractions. CTES was supported by the Australian Pastoral Trust CSIRO Summer Scholarship Program.


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