Disease relevance of SPDS1

• We cloned spermidine synthase cDNA from Cucurbita ficifolia and the gene was introduced to Arabidopsis thaliana under the control of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter [1].
• As compared with the wild-type plants, the T2 and T3 transgenic plants exhibited a significant increase in spermidine synthase activity and spermidine content in leaves together with enhanced tolerance to various stresses including chilling, freezing, salinity, hyperosmosis, drought, and paraquat toxicity [1].

High impact information on SPDS1

• Pairwise coexpression of hemagglutinin- and c-Myc epitope-labeled proteins in Arabidopsis cells confirmed the existence of coimmunoprecipitating SPDS1-SPDS2 and SDPS2-SPMS heterodimers in vivo [2].
• SPMS interacts with both SPDS1 and SPDS2 in yeast and in vitro [2].
• The embryo lethal phenotype of spds1-1 spds2-1 is complemented by the wild-type SPDS1 gene [3].
• In addition, we observed a nearly identical seed phenotype among an F2 seed population from the cross between the spds2-1 allele and SPDS1 RNA interference transgenic lines [3].
• The Arabidopsis genome contains four genes that encode proteins similar to both spermidine synthase and spermine synthase of other organisms [4].

Biological context of SPDS1

• The Arabidopsis genome has two genes encoding spermidine synthase, SPDS1 and SPDS2 [3].
• Spermidine synthase is currently considered as a promising drug target in the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, due to the vital role of spermidine in the activation of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor (eIF5A) and cell proliferation [5].

Associations of SPDS1 with chemical compounds

• The conversion of putrescine to spermidine in the biosynthetic pathway of plant polyamines is catalyzed by two closely related spermidine synthases, SPDS1 and SPDS2, in Arabidopsis [2].

Other interactions of SPDS1

• Here we report the characterization of the other three genes, designated SPDS1, SPDS2 and SPDS3 [4].

References