Background: Four distinct rhomboid genes appear to function in Arabidopsis plastids, two “active” types from the secretases and presenilin-like associated rhomboid-like (PARL) categories (At1g25290 and At5g25752) and two “inactive” rhomboid forms (At1g74130 and At1g74140). The number of working rhomboids is further increased by alternative splicing, two reported for At1g25290 and three for At1g74130. Since At1g25290 and At1g74130 exist as alternative splice variants, it would be necessary to assess the splicing patterns of the other two plastid rhomboid genes, At5g25752 and At1g74140, before studying the Arabidopsis plastid rhomboid system as a whole. Methods: This study thus specifically focused on an analysis of the At1g74140 transcript population using various RT-PCR strategies. Results: The exon mapping results indicate splicing patterns different from the close relative At1g74130, despite similarity between the exonic sequences. The splicing patterns indicate a high level of sequence “discontinuity” in the At1g74140 transcript population with a significant portion of the discontinuity being generated by two regions of the gene. Conclusion: The overall discontinuous splicing pattern of At1g74140 may be reflective of its mode of involvement in activities like controlling gene expression.
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