ATML1

Summary

ATML1 Encodes a Homeobox Transcription Factor

ATML1 (for Arabidopsis thaliana meristem L1 layer) represents a full length cDNA sequence of 2940 bp with an open reading frame of 2154 bp. The ATML1 gene encodes a protein of 718 amino acids, with a predicted molecular mass of ~73 kD and a pI of 5.74 that contains a homeodomain DNA-binding motif within its N-terminal region. Among the other plant homeodomains, ATML1 is most similar to the Arabidopsis GLABRA2 and the Phalaenopsis O39 homeodomain proteins. For further details, please see our publication (Lu, Porat, Nadeau, and O'Neill, 1996).

Analysis of Gene Expression

The ATML1 gene is first expressed in the apical cell of the early proembryo, and from the 16-cell proembryo-stage it becomes restricted to the protoderm (Panel A) and later to the L1 layer of the embryonic shoot apical meristem. After germination, the gene maintains this L1 layer-specific pattern of expression in the vegetative shoot apical meristem, inflorescence and floral meristems(Panel B). Given that ATML1 is a homeobox gene, the gene may be involved in regulating the apical-basal and radial patterns during embryogenesis and in controlling the specification of the protoderm.