%A Zhaosheng Kong, Wenying Xu, Qun Li and Yongbiao Xue %T Identification, Expression and Functional Analysis of a Receptor-like Cytoplasmic Kinase, OsRLCK1, in Rice %0 Journal Article %D 2007 %J J Integr Plant Biol %R 10.1111/j.1744-7909.2007.00512.x %P 898-907 %V 49 %N 6 %U {https://www.jipb.net/CN/abstract/article_22395.shtml} %8 2007-06-05 %X

Pollination involves a series of complex cellular interactions and signal transduction events. Numerous reports have suggested a central role for protein kinases in pollen germination and pollen tube growth and a large number of receptor-like kinases have been detected exclusively in pollen in higher plants. However, few are well characterized, especially for the receptor-like cytoplasmic kinases. Here we report a receptor-like kinase gene, OsRLCK1, which belongs to the receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase VIII subfamily. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction analysis and whole mount RNA in situ hybridization showed that OsRLCK1 is a pollen-specific gene and expressed only in the mature pollen. When expressed in the onion epidermal cells, the OsRLCK1-GFP fusion protein was diffused throughout the cell, indicating its cytoplasmic and nuclear localization. The Maltose Binding Protein-OsRLCK1 recombinant protein was found to be capable of autophosphorylation on threonine residue, showing that it encodes a functional kinase. These results suggest that OsRLCK1 is likely to play a role in a signaling pathway associated with pollen performance during pollination in rice.