A cDNA, cakn, orthologous to the Arabidopsis KN gene, which is involved in
vesicle fusion during cell plate formation, was isolated from bell pepper f
ruit, cakn seems to be monogenic and its expression mainly transcriptionall
y regulated. During fruit development, transcript and protein levels increa
se significantly in the early stages in which numerous cell divisions occur
. but in the stages corresponding to fruit growth by cell enlargement, wher
eas the messengers are undetectable, proteins are still faintly present, su
ggesting a different stability rate for the two types of macromolecules. (C
) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.