In silico analysis of the prolyl 4-hydroxylase gene family and funtional characterization of P4H4 T-DNA knockout mutants in Arabidopsis thaliana
2008
Younesi, E.
This thesis investigates the biological function of prolyl 4-hydroxylase (P4H) genes in the model plant, Arabidopsis thaliana var. Columbia by three different approaches: 1) in-silico analysis of secondary structure of P4H proteins, 2) characterization of P4H-4 T-DNA knock-out mutants, and 3) pharmacological inhibition of P4H activity. In the course of investigation a phylogenetic tree was reconstructed for 20 putative P4H proteins by means of bioinformatics tools and the evolutionary relationships of these proteins was established. Suppression of P4H activity in both knock-out T-DNA mutants and inhibitor-treated arabidopsis plants resulted in evident changes in the growth and development of plants, especially in root architecture, suggesting a role in signaling networks for P4Hs. This role is then examined by phenotypic analysis of ethylene hormone mutants and inhibitor-treated plants. Results of this work including analysis of structural features of P4H proteins and phenotypic analyses provide clues to the biological properties and function of P4Hs in Arabidopsis thaliana which can be used for hypothesis generation and further research.
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