Barley elongation factor 1α: genomic organization, DNA sequence, and phylogenetic implications

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Abstract
A full length cDNA clone encoding the 447 amino acid long barley (Hordeum vulgare cv. Bomi) endosperm elongation factor 1α (eF-1α) was isolated by a differential screening procedure. RFLP mapping of eF-1α showed that the barley genome contains a small eF-1α gene family of 4 copies, with 1 copy of the gene being located on each of chromosomes 2, 4, 6, and 7. Analysis of barley endosperm total proteins by Western blot with antibodies directed towards wheat eF-1α and the sea urchin 51 kDa proteins gave a single band of the expected molecular weight. Amino acid sequence comparison with other plant eF-1α sequences showed that the isolated barley endosperm eF-1α is more similar to the published wheat eF-1α sequence than to eF-1α sequences previously published for the barley cultivars Igri and Dicktoo. The phylogenetic analysis suggests that the barley eF-1α gene family can be divided into two subfamilies and that two ancestral genes existed before the divergence of monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants.Key words: endosperm, gene family, RFLP.