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The inserts of plasmid cDNA clones for transcripts showing meiotic prophase specific expression show cross reassociation to varying degrees of intensity with one another. These clones were recovered from a cDNA library made from Lilium microsporocyte poly(A)+ RNA. RNA-dot and Northern-blot analyses indicate that these clones represent transcripts specific to the meiotic prophase interval in microsporocytes. The transcripts appear to constitute the most abundant class of meiosis-specific poly(A)+ RNAs. At least two subgroups can be distinguished by examining cloned transcripts from genes of this expressed meiotic prophase repeat (EMPR) sequence family. Members of each subgroup have similar although not identical restriction maps and show relatively high but varying fidelities of DNA cross reassociation between members. However, consensus restriction maps of the two subgroups are largely dissimilar and, except at low stringencies, cross reassociation is readily detected only at restriction fragments from a particular conserved internal segment. The DNA sequence of a representative EMPR clone has been determined, and the inferred peptide product has been found to show extensive sequence homology to that of a small heat-shock gene of Glycine max, particularly in the conserved region. Alignment of the sequences for the conserved regions of two EMPR subgroup representatives with the soybean sequence suggests that selection has acted to conserve similar blocks of amino acids in this area. These observations suggest that a major portion of the transcripts produced during the apparently unrelated processes of meiosis and heat shock in higher plants are derived from related gene sequences encoding similar products.Key words: meiosis, transcription, specific cDNA, heat-shock mRNA.

A maize (Zea mays L.) genomic clone (Zmempr 9′) was isolated on the basis of its homology to a meiotically expressed Lilium sequence. Radiolabeled probe made from the maize genomic clone detected complementary RNA at high fidelity. Furthermore, it hybridized to RNA isolated from staged (an interval that is coincident with meiotic prophase) maize tassel spikelets. Complimentary RNA was strongly (at least 50-fold) induced during heat shock of maize somatic tissue and appeared as a single size class in Northern blot hybridizations. Sequencing of the complete coding region of Zmempr 9′ confirmed the homology of the inferred amino acid sequence to other small heat shock proteins. Consensus sequences found in the flanking regions corresponded to the usual signals for initiation of RNA transcription, polyadenylate addition, and the induction of heat shock genes. The latter sequences conferred heat shock-specific transient expression in electroporated protoplasts when cloned into promoterless reporter gene plasmid constructs. Hybrid-selected translations revealed specific translation products ranging from 15 to 18 kilodaltons, providing evidence that this gene is a member of a related multigene family. We therefore conclude that this maize genomic DNA clone, recovered through its homology to clones for meiotic transcripts in lily, represents a genuine maize small heat shock protein gene.

Moderately repetitive DNA sequences in Lilium (cv Enchantment) which undergo a meiotic-specific repair synthesis during pachytene (P-DNA) were previously shown to exist as families of very low internal sequence divergence. The present study concerns P-DNA sequence preservation among higher plants. The relative abundance of these sequences in a variety of plant species and their divergence relative to Enchantment P-DNA was determined through C0t analysis and thermal denaturation of hybrid duplexes. Nearly all of the P-DNA sequence families of Enchantment were found to be present in the genomes of a number of monocot species and the dicot Vicia faba. Sequence content is highly conserved, with less than 6% divergence between Lilium and distantly related species such as Zea mays and Secale cereale. However, the number of repeats per P-DNA family varies considerably in different species, being particularly low among the Poales. P-DNA differs from most high thermal stability (HTS) sequence families of Enchantment which, although exhibiting a high degree of internal homology, are not present as repetitive DNA in the genomes of the other species examined. For most HTS families, the lack of internal divergence probably reflects their fairly recent introduction into the moderately repetitive DNA class, while P-DNA sequences represent evolutionarily ancient families which are the products of strong selective pressure for an indispensable meiotic function.

The genome of the homosporous fern Thelypteris normalis contains a large middle-repetitive component, essentially a single second-order kinetic class, which exhibits heterogeneity in the precision of pairing of the reformed duplexes upon remelting. There are two possible models to explain this observed sequence heterogeneity. Either different families of the middle-repetitive class exhibit different degrees of sequence divergence and Tm reduction (inter familial heterogeneity), or else all are equally diverged, and the broad melt is the sum of thousands of equally broad melts for all the families (intra familial heterogeneity). To differentiate between these two hypotheses, iodinated Thelypteris DNA, reannealed through middle-repetitive C0t, was thermally fractionated on hydroxyapatite into low (65–75° C), medium (75–85° C), and high (85–95° C) thermal stability classes. When reannealed with excess cold DNA, each class remelted over its characteristic temperature range. C0t curves of these thermal fractions reannealed with cold driver demonstrated that all were from the middle-repetitive class. It was shown that these results were not due to G + C differences nor to artifacts of the labeling technique. Therefore it was concluded that, although all families consisted of approximately the same number of repeats, the families ranged from those with virtually no sequence divergence to those barely able to reanneal at the criterion used, in accordance with the model of inter familial heterogeneity. Though this model may have wide applicability to middle-repetitive DNAs, a different pattern appears to prevail in Selaginella, a heterosporous pteridophyte. Some evolutionary implications are discussed.

Moderately repetitive sequences of Lilium DNA synthesized during pachytene consist of families that have a considerably lower divergence than those of total genomic middle repeat DNA, the latter having an average divergence of 10%. 80% of the sequences synthesized during the early phase of pachytene and 100% of those synthesized during the latter phase of pachytene reassociate with perfect or near-perfect fidelity. Except for the small amount of DNA synthesized during early pachytene, pachytene middle repeat sequences are non-divergent and thus constitute a distinctive subset of total moderately repetitive DNA. The modal length of pachytene and total middle repeat sequences are similar. In contrast to earlier measurements based on isotope incorporation, the modal length is of the order of 1500–2000 base pairs, ten times the previously estimated size. Calculations based on the new length lead to the conclusion that pachytene middle repeat sequences account for 1% of the genome.

RecA-like proteins have been purified from somatic and meiotic cells of mouse and lily. The rec proteins have been designated "s-rec" and "m-rec" to indicate their respective tissues of origin. The two proteins differ in molecular weight and in their response to temperature, the latter being consistent with the optimal temperature for physiological function of their tissues of origin. There is a major increase in m-rec protein with the entry of cells into meiosis, the peak of activity being early pachytene. Extracts of the cells and also those of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) have been prepared that have the capacity to catalyze homologous recombination. These extracts behave similarly to the m-rec proteins upon entry of cells into meiosis. Yeast transferred to sporulation medium displays a 100-fold increase in the recombination activity of the extract at about the time of entry into meiosis. The occurrence of peak levels of m-rec and recombination activity in extracts from cells in early pachytene points strongly to that stage as the time at which the enzymatic phase of recombination occurs.

Background Although numerous factors can influence gene expression, promoters are perhaps the most important component of the regulatory control process. Promoter regions are often defined as a region upstream of the transcriptional start. They contain regulatory elements that interact with regulatory proteins to modulate gene expression. Most genes possess their own unique promoter and large numbers of promoters are therefore available for study. Unfortunately, relatively few promoters have been isolated and characterized; particularly from soybean (Glycine max). Results In this research, a bioinformatics approach was first performed to identify members of the Gmubi ( G. m ax ubiquitin) and the GmERF ( G . m ax Ethylene Response Factor) gene families of soybean. Ten Gmubi and ten GmERF promoters from selected genes were cloned upstream of the gfp gene and successfully characterized using rapid validation tools developed for both transient and stable expression. Quantification of promoter strength using transient expression in lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) cotyledonary tissue and stable expression in soybean hairy roots showed that the intensity of gfp gene expression was mostly conserved across the two expression systems. Seven of the ten Gmubi promoters yielded from 2- to 7-fold higher expression than a standard CaMV35S promoter while four of the ten GmERF promoters showed from 1.5- to 2.2-times higher GFP levels compared to the CaMV35S promoter. Quantification of GFP expression in stably-transformed hairy roots of soybean was variable among roots derived from different transformation events but consistent among secondary roots, derived from the same primary transformation events. Molecular analysis of hairy root events revealed a direct relationship between copy number and expression intensity; higher copy number events displayed higher GFP expression. Conclusion In this study, we present expression intensity data on 20 novel soybean promoters from two different gene families, ubiquitin and ERF. We also demonstrate the utility of lima bean cotyledons and soybean hairy roots for rapid promoter analyses and provide novel insights towards the utilization of these expression systems. The soybean promoters characterized here will be useful for production of transgenic soybean plants for both basic research and commercial plant improvement.