CONSERVATION OF THE HUMAN BREAST BASIC CONSERVED 1-GENE IN THE PLANT KINGDOM - CHARACTERIZATION OF A CDNA CLONE FROM ARABIDOPSIS-THALIANA

Based on low-stringency genomic Southern analysis, the recently described human breast basic conserved 1 (BBC1) gene has been proposed to be conserved throughout Eukaryota [Adams et al., Hum. Mel. Genet. 1 (1992) 91-96]. We have isolated and characterized a cDNA clone (AtBBC1) which corresponds to a BBC1 homologue from the model plant species, Arabidopsis thalinana. Furthermore, upon Northern analysis, the AtBBC1 probe detects related transcripts in various dicotyledenous and monocotyledonous plant species, indicating that actively transcribed BBC1-related genes are widespread in the plant kingdom. BBC1 has been shown to be expressed in all mammalian tissues examined [Adams et al., Hum. Mel. Genet. 1 (1992) 91-96]; similarly, here the AtBBC1 transcript has been detected in a variety of A. thaliana organs. In addition, the abundance of the AtBBC1 mRNA is developmentally regulated during the course of fruit maturation, and is positively correlated with active cell division.