| abstract |
It is intended to provide enzymes which catalyze a reaction of transferring a sugar to the hydroxyl group at the 2’-position of a chalcone and genes thereof, preferably an enzyme which catalyzes a reaction of transferring glucose specifically to the hydroxyl group at the 2’-position of a chalcone and its gene. It is also intended to provide a plant having a flower color modified by using such a glycosyltransferase. From petal cDNA libraries of carnation and so on, several ten glycosyltransferases having base sequences corresponding to conserved regions are cloned with the use of probes corresponding to the conserved regions of the glycosyltransferases. Furthermore, these glycosyltransferases are expressed in Escherichia coli and an activity of transferring glucose to the 2’-position of a chalcone (i.e., chalcone 2’-glycosyltransferase activity) is confirmed in the E. coli extract. Thus, it is confirmed that the cloned genes encode 2’-glycosyltransferases. |