Characterization of the maize OHP1 gene: evidence of gene copy variability among inbreds

The maize proteins Opaque-2 (O2) and OHP1 are members of the bZIP class of transcriptional regulatory proteins. The genomic organizations of the O2 and OHP1 genes are conserved in terms of the number and placement of introns which suggests a common evolutionary origin. The organization of O2 and OHP1 contrasts with the maize bZIP protein gene OBF1, which lacks introns, suggesting that there exist at least two evolutionary paths for bZIP genes in maize. The OHP1 gene is located on chromosome 1L and a duplicate gene, OHP2, is located on 5S. Interestingly, the OHP1 gene, but not OHP2, has been amplified within recent history. Two out of ten maize inbreds analyzed contain multiple linked copies of OHP1, and in one of these lines at least two copies of the OHP1 genes are expressed. This variation in copy number among inbreds may prove useful in understanding the role of OHP1 in maize growth and development and yield insights into the evolution of this group of bZIP DNA binding proteins.