The possible role of Phosphoenolpyrovate Carboxykinase (PEPCKin protein content of chickpea seeds (Cicer arietinum L

Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

• Maria Beihaghi ¹
• Abdol Reza Bagheri ¹
• Ahmad Reza Bahrami ²
• Faraj Alah Shahriari ¹
• Ahmad Nezami ¹

¹ Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

² Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

10.22067/ijpr.v1i1.6346

Abstract

Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxykinase (PEPCK) has been shown to be present in plants and
animals, playing different metabolic roles in different tissues. The basic role of this enzyme is its
contribution in the gluconeogenesis pathway. Evidences have shown that PEPCK may play a role in
metabolism of nitrogenous compounds in developing seeds of legumes. In this research, pepck gene
expression and the occurrence of PEPCK protein and its activity in different genotypes of chickpea
(Cicer arietinume L.) were determined. Two low protein genotypes (MCC291 & MCC373) and two
high protein genotypes (MCC458 & MCC053) out of 20 chickpea genotypes were selected, from
which the total RNA was extracted through different stages of seed development. The expression of
chickpea pepck gene was estimated by semi-quantitative RT-PCR. The results of RT-PCR showed that
two isoforms of this gene were expressed in high protein genotypes, whereas in the low protein
genotypes were not expressed. The differential expression of pepck gene is perhaps related to the
possible role of Phosphoenolpyrovate Carboxykinase in protein content of chickpea seeds.
Key words: Chickpea, Nitrogen metabolism, Phosphoenolpyruvate Carboxykinase, Seed development

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