Abstract
ANGUSTIFOLIA (AN) is a plant homolog of animal CtBP (transcription corepressor)/BARS (a protein involved in Golgi maintenance) and thought to control cell expansion in the leaf-width direction via regulation of cortical microtubules. Although AN has been expected to function as a transcriptional corepressor for years, recent studies are negative to the estimation. Re-examination of intracellular localization of AN-GFP did not show nuclear localization, or AN gene did not complement drosophila CtBP mutant. Moreover, although plant-specific C-terminus domain has been expected to be important for the molecular function of AN, recent studies are also negative to it (Higuchi et al., this meeting). To elucidate the molecular function of AN, it is important to perform functional analysis independently of its animal homologs. We presented that AN-GFP shows localization to dot-like structures close to the Golgi apparatus in the past meeting. In the present study, its precise localization and the effect of an-1 mutation on membrane structure were observed in detail. Search for interactors of AN is also in progress. The molecular function of AN based on these experiments is discussed.
