A search for growth related genes in Kalanchoë blossfeldiana

Differential display of mRNA from four sets of contrasting phenotypes were carried out in order to identify and isolate genes associated with elongating growth of Kalanchoë blossfeldiana. A total of 17 unique differential expressed cDNA fragments were sequenced and 12 showed homology to genes in other plant species. Three genes were subsequently tested for growth related activity by Virus Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) in Nicotiana benthamiana. One gene fragment (13C) resulted in plants with significantly reduced growth (N = 20, P = 0.05, one-tailed students t-test) from day 25 after virus infection. Full-length cDNA and genomic DNA sequences were obtained by inverse PCR and thermal asymmetric interlaced (TAIL) PCR and the gene was named KbORF1. The predicted gene is 2244 bp long with three exons of 411 bp in total encoding a protein of 137 amino acid residues with homologs widespread among plants. The protein has no known function, but its expression has been confirmed in a proteomic study of Arabidopsis. Southern blot analysis shows two hybridizing fragments in agreement with the tetraploid nature of K. blossfeldiana. Fragment 13C comprises 446 bp of the gene, and the portion of 13C conferring growth retardation by VIGS is located 10 bp into the second intron indicating a regulatory function of this part of the KbORF1 mRNA. Differential display in combination with VIGS as a screening method proved to be a good functional approach not only to search for genes of interest, but also to isolate expressed genetic regulatory domains.