For Good Grass forage, Mind Your Ph's and Q's Researchers have
discovered how a recently identified family of plant proteins
assists in stopping gene function, a finding that may help
produce plants resistant to environmental stresses such as
saline soil, drought and cold. The proteins, AtCPLs, apparently
play a crucial role in triggering a gene that controls plants'
reactions to stressful conditions, said Purdue University
researchers. They, along with collaborators at the University of
Arizona, published their findings in two papers appearing in a
recent issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
AtCPLs are enzymes of a protein family that in humans controls
initiation of gene activation. The family is called the
C-terminal domain phosphates family. Specifically, this enzyme
family controls RNA required to produce messenger RNA, the
initial product of the gene expression process. RNA, a molecule
closely related to DNA, serves as a blueprint that tells cells
to manufacture specific proteins. "