Genomic characterization and physical mapping of two fucosyltransferase genes in Medicago truncatula

Fucosyltransferases catalyse fucose transfer onto oligosaccharides. Two fucosylated structures have been identified in plants: the alpha 1,4-fucosylated Lewis-a epitope and the alpha 1,3-fucosylated core. Here we report the cloning, genomic characterization, and physical mapping of two genes encoding proteins similar to alpha 1,4-fucosyltransferase (EC 2.4.1.65, MtFUT1) and alpha 1,3-fucosyltransferase (EC 2.4.1.214, MtFUT2) in Medicago truncatula. Analysis of the genomic organization of the fucosyltransferase genes in M. truncatula, revealed the presence of two genomic variants of the MtFUT1 gene coding sequence, one containing a single intron and the other intronless, whereas in MtFUT2, the gene coding region is interrupted by four introns. Using for the first time fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to physically map fucosyltransferase genes in plants, this study reveals a high genomic dispersion of these genes in Medicago. The MtFUT1 genes are mapped on chromosomes 4, 7, and 8, colocalizing on three of the five MtFUT2 loci. Chromosomes 1 and 5 carry the additional MtFUT2 loci. Moreover, the intensity of the FISH signals reveals marked differences in the number of gene copies per locus for both genes. Simultaneous mapping of rRNA genes on chromosome 5 shows that several MTFUT2 gene loci are inserted within the rDNA array. Insertions of coding DNA sequences into the rDNA repeats were never reported to date.