Organ-specific expression of RBCS multigene family in rice

Abstract

The small subunit of Rubisco is encoded by RBCS multigene family in the nuclear genome in higher plants. In this study, the mRNA levels of each member of RBCS multigene family were determined in different organs in rice. In a leaf blade, the mRNAs of OsRBCS2, 3, 4 and 5 were highly accumulated, suggesting that these four genes mainly contribute to Rubisco synthesis. In other organs with less or no Rubisco content, the amounts of mRNAs were low. Additionally, the members that accumulated in such organs were different from those in a leaf blade ; leaf sheaths, OsRBCS3, 4 and 5 ; seeds, OsRBCS3 and 4 ; roots, OsRBCS1. The results indicate that expression of each member of RBCS multigene family is different depending on the amount Rubisco synthesis in each organ.