Multiple cDNAs of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase in the C4 dicot Flaveria trinervia

Abstract

We have isolated and characterized cDNA clones for the leaf-specific C4-phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPCase) from the dicotyledonous C4 plant Flaveria trinervia. The isolation of multiple cDNAs indicates that in this plant the C4 isoform is encoded by a small subgroup of the PEPCase gene family. The deduced amino acid sequence reveals a higher degree of similarity to the CAM and C3 isozymes of the dicotyledonous, facultative CAM plant Mesembryanthemum crystallinum than to the C4 PEPCases of monocotyledonous origin.