Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2002 Feb;11(1):1-10.
doi: 10.1023/a:1013917701701.

Expression of the high capacity calcium-binding domain of calreticulin increases bioavailable calcium stores in plants

Collaborators, Affiliations

Expression of the high capacity calcium-binding domain of calreticulin increases bioavailable calcium stores in plants

Sarah E Wyatt et al. Transgenic Res. 2002 Feb.

Abstract

Modulation of cytosolic calcium levels in both plants and animals is achieved by a system of Ca2+-transport and storage pathways that include Ca2+ buffering proteins in the lumen of intracellular compartments. To date, most research has focused on the role of transporters in regulating cytosolic calcium. We used a reverse genetics approach to modulate calcium stores in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. Our goals were two-fold: to use the low affinity, high capacity Ca2+ binding characteristics of the C-domain of calreticulin to selectively increase Ca2+ storage in the endoplasmic reticulum, and to determine if those alterations affected plant physiological responses to stress. The C-domain of calreticulin is a highly acidic region that binds 20-50 moles of Ca2+ per mole of protein and has been shown to be the major site of Ca2+ storage within the endoplasmic reticulum of plant cells. A 377-bp fragment encoding the C-domain and ER retention signal from the maize calreticulin gene was fused to a gene for the green fluorescent protein and expressed in Arabidopsis under the control of a heat shock promoter. Following induction on normal medium, the C-domain transformants showed delayed loss of chlorophyll after transfer to calcium depleted medium when compared to seedlings transformed with green fluorescent protein alone. Total calcium measurements showed a 9-35% increase for induced C-domain transformants compared to controls. The data suggest that ectopic expression of the calreticulin C-domain increases Ca2+ stores, and that this Ca2+ reserve can be used by the plant in times of stress.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Plant Physiol. 1996 Aug;111(4):1271-9 - PubMed
    1. FEBS Lett. 1995 Aug 7;369(2-3):331-4 - PubMed
    1. Plant Cell. 1999 Nov;11(11):2233-48 - PubMed
    1. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 1995 Jun 6;211(1):54-9 - PubMed
    1. Nature. 1991 Aug 8;352(6335):524-6 - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources