Isolation and Characterization of a Pollen-specific cDNA Clone from Easter Lily

A pollen-specific cDNA clone, LMP50, was isolated from the mature pollen cDNA library of the Easter lily. The LMP50 transcript was highly abundant in mture pollen grains but not detectable in other organs. The LMP50 cDNA clone contains 1383 nucleotides and two open reading frames. The first codes for a peptide of 15 amino acid residues. The role of this peptide is nuclear. The second encodes a protein containing 329 amino acid residues. This protein exhibited a significant homology to human tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase and porcine uteroferrin. Both of these enzymes have been suggested to play a role in iron transport. Therefore, LMP50 may act as an iron carrier protein in mature pollen grains.