Expression of a gene encoding a glycine-rich protein in petunia

We have investigated the expression of a gene that codes for a glycine-rich structural protein (GRP1) in petunia. This gene is expressed as a single polyadenylated RNA of approximately 1,600 bases which was found to be present in leaves, stems, and flowers of petunia but not in roots. In the organs in which GRP1-specific mRNA was expressed, its steady-state levels were highest in stems and leaves and lowest in flowers. This analysis also revealed that the pattern of organ-specific expression for several of the GRP1-related genes was distinctly different. In addition, it was found that the levels of GRP1 RNA were significantly higher in young leaves and stems than in old, implying developmental regulation of the gene. GRP1-specific RNA in both old and young tissue that had been wounded was found to be increased at least 25-fold over that in young unwounded tissue. Increased levels of GRP1 mRNA were seen within 5 min after wounding, with substantial increases apparent by 30 min. Maximal levels of accumulation of GRP1 transcripts occurred 90 min after wounding. The enhancement of GRP1 mRNA levels by wounding appears to be one of the earliest events of the plant wound response and is distinct from that which we observed for the PAL gene in petunia. Using S1 analysis and RNA primer extension, we demonstrated that the same transcriptional start site was used by the GRP1 gene in all organs and in wounded and unwounded tissue. The potential significance of these data with regard to wound signal transduction is discussed.