AtSKtheta, a plant homologue of SGG/GSK-3 marks developing tissues in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The Arabidopsis thaliana AtSK sub-family of serine threonine protein kinases groups 10 homologues of SHAGGY/GSK-3. Previous results obtained with different plant members of the SHAGGY/GSK-3 family strongly suggest that these proteins are involved in cell differentiation and stress responses. In order to gain further insight into the biological functions of this family in A. thaliana, polyclonal antibodies were raised against specific domains of the AtSKtheta protein. The antibodies were purified and used in immunolocalization studies in various tissues of A. thaliana. Our results show that the protein is located in the cell nuclei of various developing organs. Differential protein localization profiles were found in some of the observed tissues, notably during gametophyte and embryo development. Based on this protein location pattern, and on what is known about the mammalian members of the GSK-3 family, we suggest that AtSKtheta may have a role in the regulation of transcription factors.