Cloning and expression analysis of a potato cDNA that encodes branching enzyme: evidence for co-expression of starch biosynthetic genes.

One of the key enzymes involved in the formation of amylopectin, which is the major component of starch, is branching enzyme. A cDNA for potato branching enzyme was cloned by screening a tuber-specific cDNA expression library using an antiserum directed against a denatured preparation of the protein. Complementation of an Escherichia coli strain deficient in branching enzyme was achieved using a construct derived from this clone. Analysis of the expression of the gene in potato revealed a close association with conditions favouring starch biosynthesis. The expression pattern of the gene coding for potato branching enzyme, as analyzed at the mRNA level, closely resembles that of AGPase S, a gene coding for one of the subunits of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase, which is the key regulatory enzyme in the starch biosynthetic pathway. This raises the possibility that enzymes involved in the pathway are coordinately regulated at the transcriptional level.