Molecular analyses of a barley multigene family homologous to the yeast protein kinase gene SNF1.

Summary Genomic sequences homologous to the yeast gene SNFl have been isolated from barley (Hordeurn vulgare) cv. Sunbar. SNFI encodes a protein serinel threonine kinase required for the derepression of a number of genes, including SUC2 (invertase) in response to glucose deprivation. Southern blotting showed the presence of a family of related genes in barley and full-length sequences have been determined for two members of the family, one of which lacks an exon and is almost certainly non-functional. A partial sequence has been obtained for a third member of the family. The transcription start site of one of the genes has been determined by Sl nuclease protection. A transcript almost identical in sequence to the exons of one of the genes has been amplified from barley endosperm mRNA using the polymerase chain reaction. One of the full-length genomic sequences contains nine introns and 10 exons and the number and position of the introns in the second full-length sequence is identical except that it lacks exon 2. However, the length and sequence of the introns vary. Northern blot analyses indicated that related transcripts are present in aleurones, coleoptiles, endosperms, internodes, leaves, ovules, roots and root tips, with highest levels of expression in the aleurones and endosperms.