A novel flower-specific Arabidopsis gene related to both pathogen-induced and developmentally regulated plant beta-1,3-glucanase genes

Beta-1,3-glucanases are usually associated with plant defense responses, although some are also developmentally or hormonally regulated. We characterized two Arabidopsis genes linked in a tandem array, BG4 and BG5, encoding putative novel isoforms of beta-1,3-glucanase. The deduced polypeptides, BG4 and BG5, were highly similar to each other (89% amino acid identity) but only moderately related (32 to 41% amino acid identity) to the different categories of previously characterized beta-1,3-glucanases, suggesting that BG4 and BG5 may represent a novel class of beta-1,3-glucanases in plants. Neither of the genes was responsive to pathogen or SA induction in contrast to the previously identified Arabidopsis beta-1,3-glucanases, nor could we detect any developmental or hormonally induced expression in the vegetative parts of the plants. Both RNA blot and in situ hybridization data demonstrated that the BG4 gene was specifically expressed in the style and septum of the ovary, suggesting that the corresponding protein is involved in the reproductive process of the plant.