Distinct Lhc mRNA stabilities in several vascular plant species

The light harvesting complex protein genes (Lhc) were among the first isolated and characterized from vascular plants. Despite the accumulated knowledge about their steady-state mRNA levels in various organs/tissues and under certain light qualities and regimes, limited information is available regarding their transcription rates, and nothing is known about Lhc mRNA stabilities. Steady-state mRNA accumulation patterns under constant conditions suggested distinct Lhc mRNAs stabilities in various plant species. Decay studies with actinomycin D revealed half-life times of 3.8 hours in Lycopersicon esculentum (tomato), 2.5 hours in Spinacea oleracea (spinach), 24 hours in Pinus sylvestris, and 37 hours in Ginkgo biloba. The presence of ‘AUUUA’-destabilizing elements in the 3′ UTR, free energy calculations of secondary structures, and simultaneous expression of the tomato and P. contorta Lhc gene in transgenic tomato all support the notion that the intrinsic sequences of the transcript contribute significantly to the distinct Lhc mRNA stabilities present in different plant species.