CAD2 — Brassica juncea

Summary

BjCAD2 (BJUA01G32050S) on Indian mustard chromosome A01 encodes a protein with glutamate-cysteine ligase activity and protein serine/threonine kinase activity, containing glutamylcysteine ligase and protein kinase domains. The gene is associated with glutathione biosynthesis, sulfur metabolism, and oxoacid metabolism, as well as defense responses to insects, bacteria, fungi, and ozone. It has been linked to cadmium tolerance, root development, shoot branching, axillary meristem formation, pathogen resistance, basal thermotolerance, anthocyanin accumulation, and flower development. The product localizes to the chloroplast stroma, plastid, cytosol, and plasma membrane. Studies of related genes in other species link the family to glutathione content, cadmium sensitivity, flowering time, oxidative stress tolerance, and nematode resistance.