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Starch phosphorylation catalysed by the α-glucan, water dikinases (GWD) has profound effects on starch degradation in plants. The Arabidopsis thaliana genome encodes three isoforms of GWD, two of which are localized in the chloroplast and are involved in the degradation of transient starch. The third isoform, termed AtGWD2 (At4g24450), was heterologously expressed and purified and shown to have a substrate preference similar to potato GWD. Analyses of AtGWD2 null mutants did not reveal any differences in growth or starch and sugar levels, when compared to the wild type. Subcellular localization studies in Arabidopsis leaves and in vitro chloroplast import assays indicated that AtGWD2 was not targeted to the chloroplasts. The AtGWD2 promoter showed a highly restricted pattern of activity, both spatially and temporally. High activity was observed in the companion cells of the phloem, with expression appearing just before the onset of senescence. Taken together, these data indicate that, although AtGWD2 is capable of phosphorylating α-glucans in vitro, it is not directly involved in transient starch degradation.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	Arabidopsis, dikinase, GWD, phloem, starch degradation, starch phosphorylation.
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Plant Biology
Research Field:	Plant Physiology
Objective Division:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Group:	Expanding Knowledge
Objective Field:	Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences
Author:	Smith, SM (Professor Steven Smith)
ID Code:	101508
Year Published:	2007
Web of Science® Times Cited:	19
Deposited By:	Plant Science
Deposited On:	2015-06-25
Last Modified:	2015-09-24
Downloads:	106 View Download Statistics