1H, 13C, 15N backbone and side chain NMR resonance assignments for the N-terminal RNA recognition motif of the HvGR-RBP1 protein involved in the regulation of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) senescence

Leaf senescence is an important process in the developmental life of all plant species. Senescence efficiency influences important agricultural traits such as grain protein content and plant growth, which are often limited by nitrogen use. Little is known about the molecular mechanisms regulating this highly orchestrated process. To enhance our understanding of leaf senescence and its regulation, we have undertaken the structural and functional characterization of previously unknown proteins that are involved in the control of senescence in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Previous microarray analysis highlighted several barley genes whose transcripts are differentially expressed during senescence, including a specific gene which is greater than 40-fold up-regulated in the flag leaves of early- as compared to late-senescing near-isogenic barley lines at 14 and 21 days past flowering (anthesis). From inspection of its amino acid sequence, this gene is predicted to encode a glycine-rich RNA-binding protein herein referred to as HvGR-RBP1. HvGR-RBP1 has been expressed as a recombinant protein in Escherichia coli, and preliminary NMR data analysis has revealed that its glycine-rich C-terminal region [residues: 93-162] is structurally disordered whereas its N-terminal region [residues: 1-92] forms a well-folded domain. Herein, we report the complete H-1, C-13, and N-15 resonance assignments of backbone and sidechain atoms, and the secondary structural topology of the N-terminal RNA recognition motif (RRM) domain of HvGR-RBP1, as a first step to unraveling its structural and functional role in the regulation of barley leaf senescence.