THE CARROT SECRETED GLYCOPROTEIN GENE EP1 IS EXPRESSED IN THE EPIDERMIS AND HAS SEQUENCE HOMOLOGY TO BRASSICA S-LOCUS GLYCOPROTEINS

Non-embryogenic carrot suspension cells secrete the EP1 glycoprotein. A cDNA clone encoding EP1 was isolated and sequenced. The EP1 sequence revealed a region of homology with Brassica S-locus glycoprotein gene s, an Arabidopsis S-like gene and putative S-like receptor protein kin ases from maize and Arabidopsis. EP1 gene expression, analysed by in s itu mRNA localization, was detected in cells located at the surface of the seedling: in the epidermis of the root, the hypocotyl and the cot yledons, in the root cap, and in a crescent of cells in the apical dom e of the shoot. In developing seeds, expression was most pronounced in both the inner and outer integument epidermis.