To explore evolutionary relationships we constructed a phylogenetic tree on the basis of the aa sequences of mature plant isoamylases. All monocots gathered in a single cluster (Fig. 4). There is 98% sequence homology between Ae. tauschii wDBE1 and wheat iso1. On the phylogenetic tree of the deduced mature protein sequences, Trichostatin A in vivo rye ISA shares 96% sequence homologies with Ae. tauschii wDBE1 and wheat iso1, and 92%

homology with barley ISA1, indicating that rye isoamylase is more closely related to Ae. tauschii wDBE1 and wheat iso1. In this study, we isolated and characterized genomic DNA and cDNA and also predicted the corresponding protein sequence of the rye isoamylase gene. By comparing isoamylase genes and their proteins among rye and other plant species, we found that plant isoamylase genes are highly homologous in the exon regions and rye isoamylase is most closely homologous in aa sequence to wheat and Ae. tauschii than to barley in terms of phylogenetic relationship. Our real-time PCR results indicated that the rye isoamylase gene is mainly expressed in seed endosperms with a maximum

level at the mid-development stage (15 DPA). Starch synthesis is a complicated metabolic system in plants and characterization of starch synthesis genes is essential for establishing a basis to explore starch structure, function, and accumulation. Isoamylase genes have been isolated and characterized from different plant species, but their precise roles in starch synthesis and granule initiation are not yet clear. The rye isoamylase isolated and characterized in this study has provided new and essential information selleck screening library to explore its function in amylopectin accumulation in rye and triticale grains and also its effects on subsequent

development of new triticale genotypes for novel starch granule unless types leading to higher or lower amylopectin contents. This study was supported by the MOE-AAFC PhD Research Program and partial A-Base funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. “
“Rice (Oryza sativa L.), as the most important staple food, feeds about 50% of the world population [1]. However, world rice production has to increase by at least 70% by 2050 in order to meet the demand of the population. Historically, at least 50% of the increases in rice productivity have resulted from development and wide adoption of new cultivars, which included benefits of the Green Revolution in the 1960s and hybrid rice technology from the late 1970s. Nowadays, it is a priority to improve yield potential in almost all rice breeding programs worldwide. Meanwhile, rice production is facing more and more challenges, such as water scarcity resulting from urban and industrial demands and pollution [2] and [3], dramatically declining arable lands and land degradation [4], and more frequent and dramatic climate changes from global warming [5], [6], [7] and [8].