Hmg-coA reductase gene family in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.): unique structural features and differential expression of hmg2 potentially associated with synthesis of specific isoprenoids in developing embryos.

As a first step towards understanding the biosynthesis of isoprenoids that accumulate in specialized pigment glands of cotton at the molecular level, two full-length genes (hmg1 and hmg2) were characterized encoding hmg-coA reductase (HMGR; EC 1.1.1.34), the enzyme that catalyzes the formation of a key isoprenoid precursor. Cotton hmgr genes exhibited features typical of other plant genes, however, hmg2 encodes the largest of all plant HMGR enzymes described to date. HMG2 contains several novel features that may represent functional specialization of this particular HMGR isoform. Such features include a unique 42 amino acid sequence located in the region separating the N-terminal domain and C-terminal catalytic domain, as well as an N-terminal hydrophobic domain that is not found in HMG1 or other HMGR enzymes. DNA blot analysis revealed that hmg1 and hmg2 belong to small subfamilies that probably include homeologous loci in allotetraploid cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Ribonuclease protection assays revealed that hmg1 and hmg2 are differentially expressed in a developmentally- and spatially-modulated manner during morphogenesis of specialized terpenoid-containing pigment glands in embryos. Induced expression of hmg2 coincided with a possible commitment to sesquiterpenoid biosynthesis in developing embryos, although other developmental processes also requiring HMGR cannot be excluded.