Author(s): BUDZINSKI, I. G. F.; LEITE, T. F.; TAKAHASHI, E. K.; PEREIRA, L. F. P.; VIEIRA, L. G. E.

Summary: Expansins (EXP) are plant cell-wall loosing proteins involved in cell enlargement and developmental process such as organogenesis, seeds germination, cell wall dissolution and fruit ripening. Two families of EXP are known, α-expansin (EXPA), involved in the control of cell wall extension, and β-expansins (EXPB), the major allergens of grass pollen that also have cell wall-loosening activity. With the objective to study the role of EXP in coffee fruit maturation we selected EXP homologous sequences on the Brazilian Coffee Genome Project database. Full-length contigs were classified according the EXP family. Northern blots of pulp from fruits at the latest stages of maturation (22-32 weeks after flowering) showed increased transcription of one contig (CaEXP1). This higher transcription corresponds with a climacteric burst, during the expansion of pulp, with a decline in ?cherry? fruits. The transcription of CaEXP1 was also observed in roots, shoots, flower and flower buds, but not in leaves.

Publication year: 2007

Types of publication: Paper in annals and proceedings

Unit: Embrapa Coffee

Keywords: Coffea, Oganogenesis