Abstract
PEND protein is a DNA-binding protein in the plastid envelope membrane of pea. A putative protein (ATF4F15.280) in the Arabidopsis thaliana chromosome 3 and the GSBF1 protein of Brassica napus were found to be PEND homologues. We isolated additional PEND homologues from Brassica napus, Prunus yedoensis and Cucumis sativus. In addition, tomato and wheat cDNAs encoding PEND homologues were found. PEND protein is therefore present widely in angiosperms. Full length PEND-GFP fusion protein was localized to the chloroplasts. The constructs without the N-terminus 15 amino acids was targeted to the nucleus. This was confirmed by immunoblot analysis. We previously reported that the cbZIP-GFP fusion protein was localized in the chloroplasts and also targeted to the nucleus in 50% of transformed cells in a transient expression system. Essentially similar results were obtained for A. thaliana and B. napus homologues. We will also report on the results with stable transformed plants.
