Abstract
We investigated the regulatory mechanisms of isoprenoid biosynthesis, especially with reference to cis-prenyltransferase (cPT) which is involved in rubber synthesis. By analyzing co-expression of isoprenoid biosynthesis genes using the correlation coefficients calculated from 771 AtGenExpress data, some gene networks are inferred. 1) Genes in methylerythritol phosphate (MEP) pathway were closely connected, whereas those of mevalonate (MVA) pathway were only clustered when using the categorized array data from tissues. 2) Phosphomevalonate kinase gene was constantly isolated from the cluster of mevalonate pathway genes owing to its constitutive high expression. 3) Using the tissue-categorized array data each cPT gene was not connected with other cPT genes or the isoprenoid biosynthesis genes, but connected with some transcription factor genes.
For candidate transcription factors for cPT, generation of transgenic lines with overexpression or RNAi construct is in progress.
