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Characterization of the gravity persistence signal (gps) 2 mutant in Arabidopsis thaliana. J.E. McCallister and S.E. Wyatt. Department of Environmental and Plant Biology, Ohio University, Athens, OH.

   Recently, a gravity persistence signal (gps) mutant phenotype in Arabidopsis was identified that showed an abnormal gravity response - wrong way. The gps 2 mutant was selected from a mutant population generated by a T-DNA insertion. A cloning strategy that relied on the T-DNA insertion was used to identify the GPS 2-1 gene. Thermal Asymmetric Interlaced Polymerase Chain Reaction (TAIL-PCR) is a method for amplifying unknown sequences flanking known sequences (T-DNA insertion). Cloning of the GPS 2-1 gene using the TAIL PCR technique revealed the identity of a candidate for the GPS 2-1 gene as At5g11150 located on chromosome five of Arabidopsis thaliana. At5g11150 is a hypothetical protein proposed to be a synaptobrevin / vesicle-associated membrane protein that's biological processes and molecular functions are unknown. The cellular component is proposed to be located in the endomembrane system. Characterization of the GPS 2-1 gene will lead to a better understanding of the gene signaling pathways involved in a plant's response to gravity.

(Supported by NASA Grant # NAG2-1608)