Background: Aberrant signaling by ErbB-2 (HER 2, Neu), a member of the human Epidermal Growth Factor (EGF) receptor family, is associated with an aggressive clinical behaviour of carcinomas, particularly breast tumors. Antibodies targeting the ErbB-2 pathway are a preferred therapeutic option for patients with advanced breast cancer, but a worldwide deficit in the manufacturing capacities of mammalian cell bioreactors is foreseen.
Genes from the DREB family are involved in plant's responses to dehydration and possibly play a role in their ability to tolerate water stress. Understanding the relationship between water stress tolerance and expression of specific genes requires the isolation and characterisation of the sequences that may be involved. We report the isolation and characterisation of a gene in Triticum durum, namely TdDRF1, which belongs to the DREB gene family and produces three forms of transcripts through alternative splicing. The relationship between the expression profile of the TdDRF1 gene and water stress was assessed by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in a time-course experiment up to 7 days. Water stress experimental conditions were selected to relate changes in gene expressions during a time frame reflecting as closely as possible those during which water stress starts having a visible effect under field conditions. Among the three isoforms of TdDRF1, the truncated form TdDRF1.2 was at all times the most expressed. Its expression, together with the TdDRF1.3 transcript, increased sharply after 4 days of dehydration, but then decreased at 7 days. The TdDRF1.1 transcript was the least expressed overall and varied least with the duration of dehydration. Genotypic differences in TdDRF1 gene expression are currently under investigation.
The dehydration responsive element binding (DREB) proteins are important transcription factors that contribute to stress endurance in plants triggering the expression of a set of abiotic stress-related genes. A DREB2-related gene, previously referred to as dehydration responsive factor 1 (DRF1) was originally isolated and characterized in durum wheat. The aim of this study was to monitor the expression profiles of three alternatively spliced TdDRF1 transcripts during dehydration experiments and to evaluate the effects of genetic diversity on the molecular response, using experimental conditions reflecting as closely as possible water stress perceived by cereals in open field. To investigate the effect of moderate water stress conditions, time-course dehydration experiments were carried out under controlled conditions in the greenhouse on four durum wheat and one triticale genotypes. Differences were observed in molecular patterns, thus, suggesting a genotype dependency of the DRF1 gene expression in response to the stress induced. The biodiversity of the transcripts of the DRF1 gene was explored in order to assess the level of polymorphism and its possible effects on structure and function of putative proteins. A total of nine haplotypes were identified in the sequences cloned, seven of which encompassing polymorphisms in exon 4, including the region codifying for the DNA binding Apetala2 (AP2) domain. The 3D structural models of the AP2 domain were generated by homology modelling using the variability observed. The polymorphisms analysed did not significantly affect the structural arrangement of the DNA binding domains, thus resulting compatible with the putative functionality.
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