CLONING AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF AN ARABIDOPSIS-THALIANA RING ZINC-FINGER GENE EXPRESSED PREFERENTIALLY DURING SEED DEVELOPMENT

The RING (Really Interesting New Gene) finger is a zinc-binding domain that is found in proteins from a variety of species. This paper repor ts the cloning and characterization of, as yet, only the second RING f inger protein gene from plants, A-RZF, in Arabidopsis thaliana. In add ition to the RING-finger motif, A-RZF also contains a putative nuclear localization signal. A-RZF is encoded by a single copy gene with an i ntron of 595 bp interrupting the 5' leader sequence and the coding reg ion. Northern blot analysis indicated that A-RZF is expressed preferen tially during seed development. The RING-finger motif, putative nuclea r localization signal, and unique expression pattern, predict an impor tant role during seed development for A-RZF. Published by Elsevier Sci ence.