Abstract
In the genus Flaveria, there are various photosynthetic types, C3, C3-C4 intermediate and C4 (NADP-ME type) plants with highly close genetic backgrounds. To isolate cDNAs for novel proteins involved in C4 photosynthesis, we carried out differential screening for F. trinervia cDNA library with either of the two 32P-labeled cDNAs as probes, which were prepared from mRNAs of C3 type F. pringlei and C4 type F. trinervia. Besides Ppc, Ppdk and Me, 56 clones were identified and classified into 29 genes. Among them 19 genes were highly homologous to known genes and other 10 genes were novel. These genes were expressed much higher in leaves of light period than in leaves of dark period and in other organs, suggesting their functions in light leaves. Here we will show detailed expression analyses for selected genes, e.g. their tissue specificity and leaf stage dependency, and discuss possibilities of their involvement in C4 photosynthesis.
