Jh. Mu et al., CHARACTERIZATION OF A POLLEN-EXPRESSED GENE ENCODING A PUTATIVE PECTIN ESTERASE OF PETUNIA-INFLATA, Plant molecular biology, 25(3), 1994, pp. 539-544
From a pollen tube cDNA library of Petunia inflata, we isolated cDNA c
lones encoding a protein, PPE1, which exhibits sequence similarity wit
h plant, bacterial, and fungal pectin esterases. Genomic clones contai
ning the PPE1 gene were isolated using cDNA for PPE1 as a probe, and c
omparison of the cDNA and genomic sequences revealed the presence of a
single intron in the PPE1 gene. During pollen development, PPE1 mRNA
was first detected in anthers containing uninucleate microspores; it r
eached the highest level in mature pollen and persisted at a high leve
l in in vitro germinated pollen tubes. The observed expression pattern
of the PPE1 gene suggests that its product may play a role in pollen
germination and/or tube growth.