Isolation and characterization of alcohol dehydrogenase cDNAs from Pinusradiata

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Abstract
Three alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) cDNAs were isolated from Pinusradiata. Two of the cDNAs appear to correspond to alleles of one ADH locus, and the third cDNA appears to correspond to a second ADH locus. Nucleotide and amino acid sequences of the coding region of ADH genes from the following species were compared: Pinusradiata, Zeamays, Hordeumvulgare, Triticumaestivum, Oryza sativa, Pisumsativum, and Arabidopsisthaliana. A phylogenetic tree was constructed of coding sequences of pine and angiosperm ADH genes. This tree shows three plant ADH clusters: monocot, dicot, and pine. The distance between pine and the two angiosperms is only slightly greater than the distance between either angiosperm, supporting the fossil evidence that suggests that monocots and dicots diverged from each other shortly after angiosperms diverged from gymnosperms. The structure of pine ADH genes was investigated by Southern blot analysis. The restriction fragment pattern of ADH genes from pines is more complex than the pattern from angiosperm genes, suggesting that pine ADH genes are either larger or more numerous than their angiosperm counterparts.