Identification of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L) cultivars by RFLP: Partial characterization of a cDNA probe that contains a sequence encoding a zinc finger motif

An RFLP analysis, performed on offshoot leaves surrounding the shoot tips of four date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivars (Kenessy, Lulu, Nabtha Saif, and Sheshi) generated cultivar-specific hybridization patterns with a single cDNA probe and total DNA digested by EcoRI. A northern blot analysis performed on RNA extracted from leaves and organogenic calli revealed that the cDNA probe, isolated from an organogenic callus cDNA library of cv Boustammi Noire, hybridized to a 2.4-kb mRNA transcript. The partial nucleotide sequence of this mRNA and the derived amino acid sequence of the open reading frame were determined. Comparison with the public sequence databases showed amino acid similarities with Fab1p, a recently identified zinc finger protein involved in vacuole function and interorganelle traffic pathways in yeast.