Abstract
ASYMMETRIC LEAVES2 (AS2) gene is one of key regulators of morphogenesis of leaves in Arabidopsis thaliana. It encodes a plant-specific nuclear protein with a AS2/LOB domain that consists of the C motif which containing four cysteine residues, the conserved glycine residue and the leucine-zipper-like sequence in its amino-terminal half. The AS2/LOB domain includes a short stretch of basic residues (RRK) in the C-motif. The AS2 protein localizes to a sub-nuclear body that is adjacent to nucleoli and we designated this body as the AS2 body. In order to identify the signal in AS2 that is required for the localization to the AS2 body, we have made DNA constructs that encoded mutant AS2 proteins with various deletions and amino acid substitutions in the AS2/LOB domain such as the cysteine residues in the C motif, the basic strech RRK and the deletion of the leucine zipper like sequence. We have investigated sub-nuclear localization of these mutant proteins. We also have examined whether the localization to the AS2 body might be required for the function of AS2 in morphogenesis of leaves. We will present latest results of these experiments.
