Isolation and characterisation of a fructosyltransferase gene from perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne)

A fructosyltransferase (LpFT1) cDNA and gene from perennial ryegrass was isolated and sequenced. Nucleotide sequence analysis revealed an open reading frame of 1947 bp encoding for a protein of 648 amino acids. LpFT1 is 69 % identical to barley 6-SFT, and contains plant fructosyltransferase functional domains. LpFT1 is present as a single copy gene and maps to the distal region of LG7 in perennial ryegrass. The expression pattern analysis of LpFT1 revealed transcript accumulation in young roots and shoots and in mature sheaths.