NOVEL EXO-(1}4)- beta -D GALACTANASE

Abstract: Disclosed is a nucleotide sequence comprising substantially the sequence of nucleotides 229 to 2319 of the sequence shown in Figure 1 encoding an enzyme having exo-(1}4)- beta -D-galactanase activity or a precursor or derivative of such an enzyme, or the functional equivalent of such a sequence. Also disclosed are vectors and hosts comprising the sequence of the invention, and a polypeptide encoded thereby. The nucleotide and amino acid sequences of a functionally equivalent enzyme obtainable from tomato fruit are also disclosed.

Description: Title: Novel Exo-(l→4Vβ-O Galactanase Field of the Invention This invention relates to novel nucleotide sequences and to vectors and hosts comprising said sequences. The invention also relates to a method of altering the characteristics of plants. Background of the Invention Pectin is a major matrix polysaccharide found in the cell wall of plants. Pectins are composed of two distinct regions. The smooth region comprises of long stretches of homogalacturonan interrupted by rhamnose, and is relatively unbranched. The hairy region is rich in galacturonic and rhamnose residues and is highly branched. The side branches contain different sugars but primarily comprise the neutral sugar side chains, arabinan. β-(l-»4)-galactan and arabinogalactan. The function of these neutral sugar polysaccharide side chains has not been fully established. It is speculated that they may function in modulating the pore size of the cell wall and therefore the mobility of proteins, possibly restricting access of various enzymes to their substrates. Moreover, the interaction of the side chains between themselves and with other cell wall polymers could contribute to the structure of the cell wall and the rheological properties of products derived from them. In vitro studies carried out on a solution of apple pectin with different neutral sugar contents demonstrate that increase in branching of pectin results in higher zero-shear viscosity. It was concluded that this was due to pectin side chain interactions. In addition, more branched pectin gives higher elastic or storage moduli (G') than less branched pectin, suggesting that side chain of pectins contribute to elastic properties (Hwang et al. . (1993) Food Hydrocolloids 7, 39-53). The hydrolysis of β- l→4)-linked galactose from polymeric galactan side chains of pectin has been demonstrated in different plants and in various physiological states (de Vetten and Huber (1990) Physiol. Plant. 78. 447-454; Fischer and Bennett (1991) Ann. Rev. Plant Physiol Plant Mol. Biol. 42. 675-703). During the process of fruit ripening, the loss of the neutral sugar, galactose, is the single most extensive change in the cell walls of many fruits (Fischer and Bennett 1991). Galactose mobilization during fruit ripening has been demonstrated in several fruits including tomato, hot pepper, strawberry, apple, coffee, muskmelon, kiwi fruit, and nectarines. During the senescence of carnation petals, the decrease in cell wall yield is due largely (45%) to a loss of the neutral sugar galactose (de Vetten and Huber 1990). In germinating lupin cotyledons, up to 80% of galactose is mobilized primarily from the β-(l→4)-linked galactan side chains of the rhamnogalacturonan backbone from secondary cell walls adapted to a storage function. A β-galactosidase (exø-(l→4)-β-D-galactanase) would be the enzyme activity predicted to be responsible for galactose mobilization from the galactan side chains of pectin. β-Galactosidase enzyme activities (including exo-galactanase activities) in plants have been described in the prior art (Dick et al. , (1990) Physiol. Plant. 89, 369-375: Burns (1990) Phytochemistry 29, 2425-2429: Singh and Knox. (1985) Phytochemistry 24, 1639-1643; Kundu et al. , (1980) Phytochemistry 29, 2079-2082). The purification of some β-galactosidase enzymes has been described, though in many instances synthetic substrates rather than endogenous substrates have been used for enzyme characterization (Ogawa et al. , (1990) Nippon Shokuin Kogyo Gakkaishi 37, 298-305; Giannakouros et al. , (1991) Physiol. Plant. 82. 413-418). There is evidence that plant β-galactosidases may be associated with developmental processes requiring cell wall turnover, like tissue elongation in Cϊcer arietinum epicotyl segments. In this tissue, β- galactosidase has been demonstrated to be responsible for autolysis, and the natural substrate of the autolytic reaction is the pectic fraction of the cell wall (Dopico et al. . (1989) Physiol. Plant. 75, 458-464: Valero and Labrador (1993) Physiol. Plant. 89, 199-203). A β-galactosidase has been highly purified from the buffer-soluble fraction of carrot cell culture homogenate (Konno et al. . (1986) Physiol. Plant. 68. 46-52). The enzyme was active on β-(l→4)-linked galactan prepared from citrus pectin in an exo fashion. The loss of galactose in cell walls during softening has been widely documented (Bartley ( 1974) Phytochemistry 13. 2107-2111; Redgewell et al. , (1992) Plant Physiol. 98, 71-81; Wegrzyn and MacRae (1992) Hort. Sci. 27, 900-902). In tomato, it has been found that the increase in monomeric galactose during fruit ripening is due to an increase in the rate of galactose solubilization from the cell wall rather than changes in the rate of metabolic utilization of the solubilized galactose (Kim et al. , (1991) Postharvest Biol. Technol. 1, 67-80). This suggests the action of β- galactosidases in vivo during fruit ripening. There have been several reports of increased β-galactosidase activity during the process of fruit ripening (Baπley 1974; Pressey (1983) Plant Physiol. 71 , 132-235; Ross et al. , (1993) Planta 1889, 499-506). The β-galactosidase purified from kiwifruit was active in cleaving terminal galactose attached at either the 2, 3, 4 or 6 position (Ross et al. , 1993). In tomato fruits, Gross and Wallner (1979, Plant Physiol. 63, 117-120) have shown that decline in wall galactans precedes or accompanies increase in soluble polyuronide. Pressey (1983) has characterized three β-galactosidase activities in ripening tomato fruits of which one (β- galactosidase II), increases 3-fold during ripening. This enzyme was also able to degrade galactan extracted from the cell walls of green tomato and the author suggests a possible role for it in tomato softening. A β-galactosidase has been purified from ripe coffee beans which increases four fold during the transition from immature to ripe fruits (Golden et al. , (1993) Phytochemistry 34, 355-360). The enzyme displayed activity against galactan and arabinogalctan, however pectin yielded galactose only in conjunction with an endopolygalacturonase activity. Solubilization of pectin during fruit ripening is a well-documented phenomenon (Fischer and Bennett, 1991). The action of endopolygalacturonase was considered to be the most likely cause of pectin solubilization, which was thought to be the cause of softening of fruits. Recent studies in transgenic tomato fruits argue against PG being the sole causal agent in the process of fruit softening (Giovannoni et al. , (1989) Plant Cell 1. 53-63; Smith et al. , (1990) Plant Mol. Biol. 14, 369-379). Recent evidence in fruits with no apparent endo or exo polygalacturonase activity suggests a role for β- galactosidases active on the galactan side chains for the solubilization of pectin (Cutillas-Iturralde et al. , (1993) Physiol. Plant. 89, 369-375). Ranawala et al. , ((1992) Plant Physiol. 100. 1318-1325) have described a NaCl-released β-galactosidase activity from cell walls of ripe muskmelon (Cucumis melo) fruits, that has the ability to degrade {in vitro) pectin extracted from pre-ripe fruits to smaller sizes of pectin, similar to those observed in ripe fruits. Moreover, there is no detectable PG activity at any stage of muskmelon fruit development and ripening. De Veau et al. , (1993 Physiol. Plant. 87, 279-285) have demonstrated increased pectin solubility and decreased apparent molecular weight of pectin extracted from mature green tomato fruits when digested in vitro with β-galactosidases isolated from avocado fruits. Though tomato pectin has been shown to contain at least 10% galactose, only 0.2% was mobilized using avocado derived β-galactosidases. However, this minor change in pectin galactose composition was sufficient to change the solubility of polymeric pectin. These results suggest that an exo-galactanase might play an important role in the pectin solubilization during the process of fruit ripening. For all the β-galactosidase activities so far described, there are only some indications as to which of the macromolecular components of the cell walls are the actual in vivo substrates. An exception is the β-galactosidase isolated from germinating nasturtium (Tropaeolum maj s) cotyledons. The enzyme activity is coincident with xyloglucan mobilization, and the purified enzyme has the unique capability of hydrolysing the terminal β-l,2-linked galactose from the galactoxylosyl sidechain of the xyloglucan polymer (Edwards et al. , (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 4333- 4337). Buckeridge and Reid recently described (in the printed abstracts of disclosures made at the 6 th Cell Wall Meeting, Nijmegen, August 25-28, 1992. and at the Scottish Cell Wall Group Meeting, April 1993) the purification of a β-galactosidase (an eτo-(l→4)-β-D- galactanase) that metabolises the linear β-(l-*4)-galactan component of the lupin cotyledonary cell wall. This enzyme is thought to play a key role in the post germinative mobilization of galactan. The enzyme activity is detectable only when galactan mobilization begins, increases during the period of galactan mobilization, and subsequently declines. The changes in exo-galactanase enzyme activity have been shown, to correlate with changes in the level of the exo-galactanase enzyme, as determined by immunoblotting. This enzyme is highly specific to β-(l→4)-galactan and does not hydrolyse other plant cell wall polysaccharides known to have terminal non- reducing galactose residues, like nasturtium xyloglucan (terminal (l→2)-β-linked galactose) and larch arabinogalactan (terminal non-reducing (l-»3) and (l-»6) linked galactose residues. The enzyme, exo-(l→4)-β-D-galactanase, (which catalyses the hydrolysis of terminal galactose residues from (l→4)- ?-linked galactan side chains) appears to have an important role during several physiological processes. The present inventors have achieved the partial protein sequencing, cloning and sequence analysis of a full length cDNA coding for the exo-(l→4)-/5-D-galactanase from germinating agricultural lupins (Lupus angustifolius) . Summary of the Invention In a first aspect the invention provides a nucleotide sequence comprising substantially nucleotides 229 to 2319 of the sequence (Seq ID No. 1) shown in Figure 1 encoding an enzyme having e ø-(l→4)- J-D-galactanase activity, or a precursor or derivative of such an enzyme, or the functional equivalent of such a nucleotide sequence. For the purposes of the present specification, a precursor shall be understood to mean a polypeptide (active or inactive), which is longer than that encoded by nucleotides 229 to 2319 of the sequence shown in Figure 1, which can be processed (e.g by proteolysis) in vitro or, more preferably, in vivo, to yield an active enzyme. A derivative shall be understood to mean a polypeptide. obtained by processing in vitro or in vivo, having enzvme activitv, which is shorter than that encoded bv nucleotides 229 to 2319 of the sequence shown in Figure 1. Particularly preferred derivatives are those having molecular weights of about 60 kDa and 45 kDa (as determined by SDS-PAGE), which are formed either by intracellular C-terminal cleavage of the polypeptide encoded by nucleotides 229 to 2319 of Figure 1. or which arise during purification of the enzyme. Preferably the nucleotide sequence of the invention comprises a 5' ATG start signal. It is also preferred that the sequence further comprises a suitable 5 1 untranslated region, including a promoter, to enable expression in appropriate host cells. It is also preferred that the sequence comprises signals to optimise expression in appropriate host cells, such as 3' polyadenylation signal to optimise expression in eukaryotes. The sequence of the invention may also comprise a sequence encoding a signal peptide. Particularly preferred embodiments are those sequences which comprise substantially the nucleotide sequence corresponding to nucleotides 163 to 228, or 151 to 228, or 130 to 228 of the sequence shown in Figure 1. The term "functional equivalent" as used herein, is intended to refer to those sequences which differ from the precise nucleotide sequence in Figure 1. In particular, the term refers to: those nucleotide sequences which encode the same amino acid sequence as that encoded by the sequence shown in Figure 1 but which, by virtue of the degeneracy of the genetic code, possess a different nucleotide sequence; sequences which encode substantially the same polypeptide but wherein there may be one or more conserved amino acid substitutions (i.e. the substitution of one amino acid for another with similar properties). A functionally equivalent sequence will generally encode a polypeptide exhibiting at least 70% amino acid homology, preferably at least 75%, and more preferably at least 85% amino acid homology with the amino acid sequence encoded by nucleotides 229 to 2319 shown in Figure 1. Accordingly, preferred functionally equivalent sequences will be able to hybridise with the complement of the sequence shown in Figure 1 under standard hybridisation conditions (e.g. such as described by Sambrook et al. , 1989), but preferably under more stringent conditions. A particular example of functional equivalents are those sequences which are substantially the antisense equivalent of nucleotides 229 to 2319 of the sequence of Figure 1. Such sequences are therefore able to hybridise with the sequence shown in Figure 1. Preferably such antisense equivalents are able to interfere with the expression of the sense sequence, at the DNA and/or mRNA level. One functional equivalent to the nucleotide sequence of the invention is the nucleotide sequence comprising substantially nucleotides 117 to 2555 of the sequence (Seq ID No. 18) shown in Figure 5. which encodes a mature exo-galactanase obtainable from tomato fruit. Also included within the scope of the invention are those nucleotide sequences encoding precursors of the mature enzyme, such as nucleotide sequences comprising substantially nucleotides 42 to 2555 of the sequence shown in Figure 5. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other nucleotide sequences may exist which encode substantially the same amino acid sequence as that of the polypeptide shown in Figure 5 but which, by virtue of the degeneracy of the genetic code, possess a different nucleotide sequence to that shown in Figure 5. Such obvious variants are to be considered as functional equivalents falling within the scope of the invention. In a second aspect the invention provides a polypeptide having exo-(l→4)-β-O- galactanase activity and comprising substantially the amino acid sequence encoded by nucleotides 229 to 2319 of the sequence shown in Figure 1. or a precursor or derivative of such a polypeptide. or a functional equivalent thereof. A particular functionally equivalent polypeptide is that encoded by nucleotides 117 to 2555 of the sequence shown in Figure 5, or a precursor or derivative thereof. One such precursor comprises, for example, the polypeptide encoded by nucleotides 42 to 2555 of the sequence shown in Figure 5. In a third aspect the invention provides a vector comprising substantially the sequence of nucleotides 229 to 2319 of the sequence shown in Figure 1, or a functional equivalent thereof. Preferably the vector is capable of directing the expression of a polypeptide having eχø-(l→4)-/?-D-galactanase activity in an appropriate host, or is capable (directly or indirectly) of interfering with the expression of such a polypeptide. Transformation techniques for introducing the sequence of the invention into various hosts are well-known to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, in a fourth aspect the invention provides a host or host cell into which the sequence of the invention (or a functional equivalent thereof) has been artificially introduced. Preferably the host or host cell is a plant or plant cell, although other hosts could be employed. For example, if one wished to express large quantities of the enzyme, one could introduce the sequence of the invention into a yeast cell. Possible uses of such a purified, recombinant enzyme include the following: modification, degradation or liquefaction of plant materials in order to affect (a) mechanical properties relating to eating texture; (b) particle sizes of, for example, fruit or vegetable juices (affecting haze); or (c) extractabilitv of colours, flavours or vitamins. As will be clear to those skilled in the art, because of the role exo-(l→4)-β-D- galactanase plays in breaking down polymers present in the plant cell wall, altering (increasing or decreasing) the levels, or altering the pattern, of expression of this enzyme in a plant might have an effect on certain characteristics of the plant. In particular, one might expect to be able to alter: growth, texture or ripening of the plant or part thereof. In a fifth aspect, the invention provides a method of altering the characteristics of a plant or part thereof, comprising introducing into the plant the sequence of the invention or a functional equivalent thereof, so as to alter the level or pattern of exo- (l-»4)-/?-D-galactanase activity in the plant. If the sequence introduced into the plant is in the sense orientation relative to the promoter, it may result in increased levels of expression. Conversely, introduction into a plant of a sequence in the antisense orientation relative to the promoter may result in a reduction of levels of expression. The plant into which the sequence is introduced is preferably a commercially significant plant in which molecules comprising (l-*4)- . -linked D-galactan residues perform a structural role. Examples of such plants include: alfalfa, apple, broccoli, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, cranberry, cucumber, eggplant, flax, grape, horseradish, kiwi, lettuce, mangoes, melon, oilseed rape, papaya, pea. peaches, pears, peppers, plum, potato, raspberry, soybean, strawberry, sugarbeat, sweet potato, tobacco, tomato and walnut. With the knowledge of the sequence data disclosed herein, those skilled in the art will appreciate that it should prove possible to clone functionally equivalent sequences (as defined above) from other plants. Accordingly, in a further aspect the invention provides a method of isolating a functionally equivalent sequence, comprising isolating mRNA from a plant of interest and screening (by means of hybridisation or PCR) the cDNA obtained therefrom using a probe nucleic acid sequence which is substantially complementary to at least part of the sequence shown in Figure 1. The invention will now be described by way of example and with reference to the drawings, of which: Figure 1 shows the nucleotide sequence (Seq ID No. 1) of the invention together with the amino acid sequence (Seq ID No. 2) of the polypeptide encoded by the nucleotide sequence; Figure 2 shows the N-terminal amino acid sequence data obtained by peptide sequencing of the 60, 45 and 15kDa lupin polypeptides that co-purify during enzyme purification (Seq ID No.s 3-5 respectively); Figure 3 shows the N-terminal amino acid sequence data for the 60kDa lupin exo- galactanase together with the nucleotide sequence of EXO1 (Seq ID No. 6), the probe used to screen the cDNA library; Figure 4 shows a comparison between the cDNA-encoded polypeptide sequences of lupin exo-galactanase and that encoding a protein of unknown function from carnations (which sequence is already found in publicly available databases); Figure 5 shows the cDNA sequence (Seq ID No. 18) of a functionally equivalent enzyme from tomato, together with the amino acid sequence (Seq ID No. 19) of the polypeptide encoded thereby; and Figure 6 shows a comparison of the amino acid sequences of the lupin and tomato enzymes; the tomato polypeptide sequence is shown boxed and those portions of the lupin polypeptide which possess an identical sequence are also boxed. Examples SDS-PAGE and electroblotting for N-terminal sequence analysis: The lupin exo-galactanase enzyme was purified from 18-days after planting (dap) lupin cotyledons as described (Buckeridge and Reid 1993, abstracts described previously), and supplied by Dr. J. S. Grant Reid (University of Stirling). The protein preparation was composed of a major protein (60 kDa), and two minor proteins (45 kDa and 15 kDa) when analyzed on SDS gels. SDS-PAGE was performed by the method of Laemmli (1970, Nature 227, 680-685) on linear 10% (w/v) acrylamide slab gels on a BioRad electrophoresis kit. Proteins were electroblotted onto the PROBLOTT™ membrane (Applied Biosystems. Warrington, U.K.) as described by Matsudaira (1987) with the following adaptations. Gels were pre-run with 50«M glutathione (Sigma) added to the cathode electrode buffer. Sodium thioglycolate (O. lmM, Sigma) was added to fresh cathode buffer for sample electrophoresis. Protein was stained with Coomassie brilliant blue following Applied Biosystem's recommendations. Endoproteinase Lys-C digestion: A preparation containing approximately 50«g purified enzyme (800pmoles intact exo- galactanase) was brought to pH 8.5. measured with indicator paper, using IM Tris/HCl pH 8.5. The sample was boiled for 5 min to denature the protein. Endoproteinase Lys-C (Sequencing grade: Boehringer Mannheim) was added at a ratio of 1:50 w/w. The incubation was left at 37° C overnight and stored at -20° C prior to reversed-phase chromatography. HPLC Separation of peptides: Reversed-phase chromatography was performed at 30° C on Applied Biosytems model 130A HPLC separation system. Samples were loaded, via a 500ul loop onto a Brownlee RP 300-C8 microbore column (250 x 1mm id; Iμ) pre-equilibrated in 0.1% (v/v) TFA. Flow rate was 0.1ml min '1 . Peptides were eluted with a gradient of increasing buffer B (90% acetonitrile: 0.085% TFA) 0-70% over 70 minutes. Absorbance was monitored at 214nm and peaks were collected manually into Eppendorf tubes with a time delay to allow for the dead space between the detector and outlet. Fractions were stored at -20° C. Prior to loading sample onto the HPLC, acetonitrile gradients were performed until a reproducible low baseline was obtained. Protein sequencing: This was performed on the Applied Biosystems model 475 protein sequencer. At the stage of protein purification (18 d.a.p), the exo-galactanase enzyme was purified as a 60 kDa protein, along with a 45 kDa and a 15 kDa protein that co-purifies with it. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of these three polypeptides is illustrated in Figure 2 (Seq ID No.s 3-5). The Figure shows that the 60 and 45 kDa proteins have an identical N-terminal sequence suggesting that they are derived by C-terminal cleavage of the same parent molecule. Antiserum raised against and affinity purified on the 60 kDa protein recognises larger proteins ( — 80 kDa) at earlier stages of seed germination. It is possible that the purified enzyme (60 kDa) is proteolytically derived from a larger precursor. This is evident from the observation that the deduced protein coded for by the purified cDNA, has a molecular weight of --77 kDa. The C-terminal cleavage could occur in vivo or during the process of protein purification. The 60 kDa polypeptide clearly retains activity and is regarded as a functionally equivalent derivative of the sequence of the invention. The 45 kDa polypeptide may possess activity (this has not yet been investigated) and. if so. would also be regarded as a functionally equivalent derivative of the sequence of the invention. mRNA isolation and cDNA library synthesis: 12 d.a.p lupin cotyledons were supplied by Dr. Reid (Univ of Stirling). Total RNA was extracted using Qiagen columns according to manufacturers recommendations, with some modifications. Total RNA was extracted in two batches. In each batch, 1.5 g of 12 d.a.p lupin cotyledons was ground to a fine powder under liquid nitrogen and distributed to six tubes, each containing 3mls of cold extraction buffer (4M Guanidine thiocyanate, lOOmM Tris HC1 pH7.5, and 25mM EDTA). To this was added 3ul of β- mercaptoethanol and 240wl of 25% Triton X-100 and the mix was incubated on ice for 15 min. 3mls of cold 3 M Sodium acetate pH6 was added and incubation on ice continued for a further 15 min. The homogenate was centrifuged at 15,000 xg for 30 min at 4°C. 5mls of cold iso-propanol was added to the supernatant and incubated on ice for 5 min. The precipitate was concentrated by centrifugation at 15,000 xg for 30 min at 4°C. The pellet was resuspended in 8ml of cold TE (20mM Tris HC1 pH8, ImM EDTA). and undissolved particles were removed by an additional centrifugation at 20.000 xg for 15 min at 4°C. 2ml of SI (2M NaCl and 250mM MOPS pH7) was added to the supernatant, which was then applied to a Qiagen-tip 100 column pre- equilibrated with 3ml of buffer QAT (0.4M NaCl, 50mM MOPS pH7.0, 15% ethanol and 0.15% Triton X-100). Each column was then washed with 15ml of buffer QA (0.4M NaCl. 50mM MOPS pH7.0, and 15% ethanol). Total RNA was eluted with 7.5ml of buffer QRU (0.9M NaCl. 50mM MOPS pH7.0, 15% ethanol and 6M Urea), precipitated with an equal volume of iso-propanol for 10 min on ice and centrifuged at 15,000xg for 30 min at 4°C. The pellet was washed once in 80% ethanol. air dried and dissolved in a total of 1.5ml. All the fractions were pooled at this stage and the yield of total RNA quantified spectrophotometrically at O.D 260 . Messenger RNA was fractionated from 1.2mgs of lupin total RNA by affinity chromatography on oligo(dT) cellulose, using Poly (A + ) Quik columns from Stratagene according to manufacturers instructions. 5μg of poly (A + ) RNA was used to synthesize a directional cDNA library using a ZAP cDNA synthesis kit (Stratagene) and packaged using Gigapack II Gold™ packaging extract (Stratagene) according to manufacturers instructions. The packaged library had a titre of approx lxlO 6 pfu of which 4.8xl0 4 pfu were screened in duplicate. Design of oligonucleotide probe: A stretch of 8 amino acids (shown underlined and in bold type in Figure 3a) within the N-terminal peptide sequence of the mature lupin exo-galactanase enzyme was used to design an oligonucleotide probe (EXO1. shown in Figure 3b, Seq ID No 6) for the screening of the cDNA library. The oligonucleotide was 23 nucleotides long with a degeneracy of 48 and incorporated one inosine at a wobble base position. The oligonucleotide probe was designed to be complementary to the mRNA coding for the lupin exo-galactanase. cDNA library screening: Screening of the lupin cDNA library was essentially as described in the ZAP cDNA synthesis and cloning protocol (Stratagene). A total of 4.8xl0 4 plaque forming units (pfu) were plated on four LB (Luria-Bertani) agar plates, using the Sure™ strain of Escherichia coli bacteria (Stratagene), and incubated for 16 h at 39°C. The plates were then chilled for 2 hr at 4°C, and plaque lifts were made in duplicate onto 150 mm nitrocellulose filters (SS) as described (Sambrook et al. , (1989) Molecular Cloning, A Laboratory Manual, 2 nd edition, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press). Following denaturation and neutralization, the filters were baked at 80° C for 2 hrs. The filters were incubated in 30mls of pre-hybridization solution (6xSSC, 5x Denhardts. 100 μg/ml salmon testis DNA, and 0.5% SDS) at 42°C for 4 hrs with gentle agitation. 15pmol of oligonucleotide EXOl was end labelled using gamma- 32 -P ATP with polynucleotide kinase as described (Sambrook et al. 1989). Labelled oligonucleotides were separated from the unincorporated radioactive nucleotides by passage through a P-50 column, and added to the pre-hybridization solution at a concentration of 2xl0 :> cpm/ml. Hybridization was carried out for 18 hrs with gentle shaking at 42° C, following which the filters were washed briefly (1-2 mins) in two changes of 6xSSC, wrapped in saran-wrap, and exposed to x-ray film (Kodak™ LS). Autoradiography was carried out for 16 hrs at -80 °C in cassettes with intensifying screens. Positive plaques were identified by autoradiography and the plaques picked into SM. 12 positive clones were taken through an additional round of screening to plaque purity. An estimate of the abundance of the mRNA coding for the lupin exo- galactanase cannot be made based on these results as the probe used (designed to the N-terminal peptide sequence), would be expected to detect only full length cDNAs. Following the second round of screening, 6 plaque pure positives were isolated, and in vivo excised. In vivo excision: Positive clones were in vivo excised with the Bluescript™ phagemid from the Uni-Zap XR™ vector as described in the manufacturers protocol (Stratagene), plasmid preparations of the isolated clones were made using Qiagen P-100 tip columns as recommended by the manufacturer. Clones were further investigated by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and by restriction analysis. 5 of the 6 isolated clones were successfully amplified using EXO 1 and a vector-based primer for amplification in the PCR. The 5 clones all possessed an insert of similar size ( — 2,600 bp) which was released upon digestion of the purified Bluescript plasmid with the restriction enzymes Eco RI and Xho I. as determined by agarose gel electrophoresis. Sequence determination: The cDNA isolated by screening the lupin cDNA library using the oligonucleotide EXO 1 was analyzed by sequencing the double stranded plasmid using appropriate primers by Taq Dye-Deoxy™ terminator chemistry and analyzed on the automated ABI 373A DNA sequencer. Sequence analysis: The isolated cDNA clone (Seq ID No. 1, shown in Figure 1) is 2628 bp long and includes a 30 bp poly A tail. The longest open reading frame (2190bp, upper case letters) codes for a 730 amino acid polypeptide (Seq ID No. 2, 81.6 kDa, shown above the nucleotide sequence in single letter code) and includes a 33 amino acid putative signal peptide. However, there are three additional possible start sites between the first start (ATG) codon and the N-terminal of the mature protein which would reduce the signal peptide to either 26, 22 or 15 amino acids. The first three start sites all precede the hydrophobic core that is located within the signal peptide. The mature enzyme is coded for by 697 amino acids with a molecular weight of — 77 kDa. As previously mentioned, the antibody raised against the —60 kDa protein cross reacts with a larger protein ( — 80 kDa), and this might serve as a precursor to the 60 kDa protein by cleavage at the C-terminal end, as the N-terminal sequence of the 60 kDa band and the mature enzyme (deduced from the cDNA) are identical. The serine (underlined) at residue 34 marks the start of the amino acid sequence of the mature protein, the deduced sequence immediately C-terminal of this corresponding to the amino acid sequence actually determined by protein sequencing. The N-terminal of the small (— 15 kDa) protein has been located within the deduced amino acid of the cDNA. and cleavage at this point would release a 12.5 kDa protein, confirming that this molecule is derived by the cleavage of the C-terminal of the synthesized protein. All the peptide sequences derived by protease digestion and sequencing of the enzyme (peptide sequence data obtained include the following: VAKKQPLAWYKTT, FSAPAGNDPL, GEVWVNGQSIG, and GNCGNCNYAGTYTDTK, Seq ID No.s 7-10 respectively) have been located within the deduced amino acid sequence of the cDNA. further confirming the identity of the cDNA as the one coding for the lupin exo-galactanase. Whether the synthesized enzyme is specifically cleaved in vivo or whether cleavage occurs during the purification process is open to speculation. Homology to other sequences: The lupin exo-galactanase shows high homology to at least one other sequence. At the amino acid level, it has a 66.5% identity over a 717 amino acid overlap with the deduced amino acid sequence of a highly expressed ethylene regulated gene with unknown function isolated from senescing carnation petals (Raghothama et al. , (1991) Plant Mol. Biol. 17, 61-71). This level of amino acid homology is insufficient for the sequence to be considered as a functional equivalent of the lupin exo-galactanase. A comparison between the two polypeptide sequences is shown in Figure 4, the carnation sequence (CARS12.pro) above the lupin sequence (LEGllCON.pro). Comparison of these two sequences reveals a number of peptides (shown in boxes) which might well be conserved among enzymes of this type. It is suggested that functional equivalents of lupin exo-galactanase which exhibit a higher degree of homology than that shown by the carnation polypeptide may also comprise these or similar peptide sequences. Isolation of exo-galactanase cDNAs from other plants With knowledge of the sequence of the exo-galactanse from lupins, it should prove possible for those skilled in the art to isolate functionally equivalent cDNAs from other plants. Described below is a method which could potentially be used for this purpose. The cDNA coding for the lupin exo-galactanase will be used to isolate functional homologues from other plants (e.g. tomato). The lupin cDNA will be radiolabelled and used as a probe to screen a cDNA library constructed from mRNA isolated from the plant of interest. About 3xl0 4 pfu will be plated on each LB-agarose plate (as described previously) and filters will be probed with the radiolabelled full-length lupin exo-galactanse cDNA. The hybridisation solution will be as described above, but the temperature of hybridisation will be reduced to about 50°C. The lower temperature is necessary because a heterologous probe (i.e. lupin cDNA) will be used to screen the cDNA library. The hybridised filters will be washed in 2x SSC at room temperature for 20 minutes and exposed to x-ray sensitive films. Putative positive clones will be plaque purified and sequence-analysed for homology with the lupin exo-galactanase cDNA. The example below illustrates how this procedure was used to isolate cDNA clones encoding an exo-galactanase from tomato fruits which is functionally equivalent to that obtained from lupin. Purification of a polypeptide from tomato with exo-galactanase activity Step 1 : Assav for activity of exogalactanase Exo-galactanase activity in various tomato fruit extracts was measured by the release of free galactose from galactan isolated from lupin seed. Each assay contained the following components: 30μl of a 1% galactan solution, 15 l IM ammonium acetate pH 5.0 containing 0.1% sodium azide and up to 30i tomato extract depending on enzyme activity. Assays were incubated at 30°C for 17-24 hours and terminated by boiling the solution for 2 min. Aliquots (64ul) were used for determination of galactose using β- D-galactose dehydrogenase essentially as described by Kurz and Wallenfels (1974, In "Methods of enzymatic analysis", ppl279-1282, Verlag, Chemie, Weinheim). Step 2: Extraction of exogalactanase from tomato pericarp It was found that exo-galactanase activity could be efficiently extracted from tomato fruit pericarp by 0.2M sodium phosphate buffer, pH 7.2. Step 3: Choice of starting material for purification Crude extracts were made (in 0.2M sodium phosphate buffer. pH 7.2) from tomato pericarp (Lycopersicum esculentum. var. Moneymaker) tissues taken from various stages of growth and ripening. It was found that pink and red fruit had the highest exogalactanase activity, whether expressed as total or specific activity. Therefore the pericarp of red fruit was used as the starting material for purification. Step 4: Ammonium sulphate precipitation Pericarp tissue (500g) from red fruit was harvested, frozen in liquid nitrogen, and stored at -20° C. The tissue was homogenised in lg:1.5vol 0.2M sodium phosphate. pH 7.2 with 1.0% (w/v) insoluble PVP (polyvinyl pyrrolidone) in a blender. The homogenate was stirred for 1 hour at 4°C to allow diffusion of cell wall enzymes into the extraction buffer. Insoluble material was removed by centrifugation at 20,000 x g, 10 min. 4°C in the SS34 rotor of the Sorvall RC5B centrifuge. The supernatant was passed through glasswool, and brought to 30% ammonium sulphate saturation by addition of solid ammonium sulphate (16.4g/100ml). The mixture was stirred for 40 min at 4°C, and the precipitated proteins were removed by centrifugation (30,000 x g, 20 min, 4°C). The supernatant was brought to 70% ammonium sulphate saturation by addition of solid ammonium sulphate (24.9g/100ml). The mixture was stirred for 40 min at 4°C, and the precipitated proteins collected by centrifugation (30,000 x g, 20 min, 4°C). The ammonium sulphate precipitated proteins were stored at -20 °C without resuspension. Step 5: DE52 chromatography 30-70% ammonium sulphate precipitated proteins were resuspended in 48ml of 20mM Tris/HCl, pH 7.8 (Buffer A) and dialysed overnight against 4.5L of Buffer A. The sample was centrifuged at 30,000 x g for 10 min, 4°C and loaded onto a 40ml DE52 column (Whatman), equilibrated in Buffer A, at 0.5ml/min. The column was washed with Buffer A (flow rate l.Oml/min) until all unbound proteins were removed. Bound proteins were eluted with a 0-100% gradient of Buffer B (as Buffer A. but with IM NaCl) over 6 column volumes. Fractions (2ml) were collected and assayed for exo¬ galactanase activity. Fractions containing high exo-galactanase activity were either dialysed immediately as detailed below or stored at -20° C. Step 6: Mono P chromatography Fractions pooled from DE52 chromatography were dialysed overnight against 4.5L of 0.025M triethanolamine/iminodiacetic acid pH 8.3 (Buffer C). The dialysed sample was centrifuged and the supernatant loaded via a 50ml superloop onto a Mono P column (Pharmacia HR 5/20), equilibrated in Buffer C,. at a flow rate of lml/min. The column was washed in Buffer C until all unbound proteins were removed. Bound proteins were eluted from the column with 50ml 10%- (v/v) polybuffer 7/4, pH 4.8 /iminodiacetic acid, at a flow rate of lml/min. Fractions (0.5ml) were collected and assayed for exo-galactanase activity. Fractions containing activity which eluted early in the pH gradient (approx pH 8.0) were pooled and dialysed overnight against 50mM ammonium acetate pH 5.0 (Buffer D). Step 7- Lactose agarose chromatography Dialysed sample was loaded onto a 5ml lactose agarose (Sigma) column, equilibrated in Buffer D. at a flow rate of 0.13ml/min. The column was washed with Buffer D to remove unbound proteins. Bound proteins were eluted from the column with 0.1M Tris/HCl pH 8.6/0.2M NaCl. Fractions (0.5ml) were collected and assayed for exo¬ galactanase activity. Step 8- N-terminal amino acid sequencing Fractions from the lactose agarose column with high exo-galactanase activity were pooled, concentrated 16-fold using a centricon 10 (Amicon). and separated according to apparent molecular weight on a 12.5% SDS polyacrylamide gel. After electrophoresis, proteins were transferred onto a ProBlott membrane (transfer buffer lOmM CAPS pH 11 in 10% methanol). The ProBlott membrane was stained in 0.1% Coomassie Brilliant Blue R250 in 1% acetic acid, 40% methanol and destained in 50% methanol. Several protein bands were visible. Two bands, of approximate molecular weight 40kDa and 80kDa. in fractions coincident with exo-galactanase activity, were excised and subjected to N-terminal amino acid sequencing on an ABI model 475 protein sequencer. The 80kDa tomato polypeptide was identified as an exogalactanase by its homology to the lupin enzyme. 80kDa Tomato polypeptide: SVSYDDRAI* * NG*R (Seq ID No. 11) Lupin Exo-galactanase : SVTYDHKAIMINGQR...etc (* = unassigned amino acid) The identity of the 40kDa protein is unknown: 40kDa Tomato polypeptide: FSNNNFVATDGTHFALNGKS (Seq ID No. 12) The retention of exo-galactanase activity is highly dependent on ionic strength, and activity can be lost if the ionic strength of chromatography buffers etc. is less than lOOmM. An improved purification procedure would be to include lOOmM NaCl (minimum) in all chromatography buffers. The above protocol would need re- evaluation and optimisation to realise the same purification but yield of exo-galactanase protein and activity should be enhanced. Isolation of partial cDNA clones encoding tomato exo-galactanase Using a heterologous cDNA probe (2628 bp) coding for lupin exo-galactanase and a hybridization temperature of 55°C, 2 partial cDNA clones, TEG13 (1082 bp) and TEG6 (415 bp), were isolated from a commercial tomato fruit (breaker stage) cDNA library obtained from Clontech Laboratories Inc. [prepared using mRNA from ripening (breaker stage) fruit (Ailsa craig cultivar VFN8), primed with oligo-(dT) and random primers and cloned into lambda gtll]. Approximately 300,000 cDNA clones from this library were screened using a 32 P-dCTP (Amersham International pic) radiolabelled probe prepared using a kit supplied by United States Biochemicals Inc. (Sequenase v2.0). Unincorporated nucleotides were removed by chromatography through a Sephadex G-50 column. Both clones TEG13 and TEG6 were PCR amplified using TAQ polymerase and lambda gtll specific primers (GT11 5'B: ACTCCTGGATCCCGTCAGTAT. Seq ID No. 13; and GT11 3'K: TAATGGTACCGACCGGCGCTCT, Seq ID No. 14), cloned into pT7 Blue PCR cloning vector (AMS Biotechnology Limited) and transformed into competent E. coli, according to the manufacturer's instructions. Colonies containing recombinant plasmids were used to inoculate 30 ml Lennox Broth containing 100«g/μl Carbenicillin: after overnight growth at 37 °C, plasmid DNA was purified using a Qiagen plasmid DNA extraction kit, PEG precipitated and washed thoroughly with 70 % EtOH. DNA sequence data were obtained using an automated ABI sequencer, and analysed using an Apple Mac computer and DNAstar software. TEG13 exhibited 64.2 % homology with nucleotides 678 to 1760 of the lupin exo-galactanase sequence. TEG6 exhibited 62.7% homology with nucleotides 2014 to 2428 of the lupin exo-galactanase sequence. Isolation of an overlapping cDNA fragment Because the cDNA clones TEG13 and TEG6 aligned with discreet regions of the lupin exo-galactanase cDNA, a RACE procedure was performed (according to Frohman M, Rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE): User friendly cDNA cloning, Amplifications: A forum for PCR users, pp 11-14) in order to obtain an overlapping cDNA fragment (5' extension of TEG6). A 5' cDNA pool was prepared by reverse transcription of tomato fruit (breaker stage) total RNA with MuMLV-RT and random hexanucleotide primers, and subsequent tailing with terminal deoxy-transferase (BRL) in the presence of dATP. In a first round PCR amplification of the 5' cDNA pool, the primer 6A1 (position 84-64 in TEG6 and 1844-1824 in fig. 5) was used in combination with an outer adaptor primer (R Q : AAGGATCCGTCGACATC, Seq ID No. 15) and ((dT) π -R 1 -R 0 : AAGGATCCGTCGACATCGATAATACGACTCA CTATAGGGATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT, Seq ID No. 16) which annealed to the 5' tail of the cDNA. In a second round of PCR amplification, the primer 6A3 (position 42-22 in TEG6 and 1802-1782 in fig. 5) was used in combination with a nested inner adaptor primer (R,: GACATCGATAATACGAC. Seq. ID No. 17), again annealing to the 5'tail of the cDNA. A RACE product of 511 bp was obtained, extending 469 bp beyond the 5 ' end of TEG6. This fragment was cloned into pT7 and sequenced. The sequence data revealed that the 5' 209 bp of the RACE product was 100% homologous to the 3' end of TEG13, suggesting that TEG13 and TEG6 were 2 partial cDNA clones representing the same gene (TEG1). A homology of 59.2 % was found between this overlapping RACE product (TEG7) and nucleotides 1544-2054 of lupin exo-galactanase. All DNA alignments were calculated using a DNAStar Megalign program (multiple alignment using the Clustal method. Gap penalty: 10. Gap length penalty: 10). By overlapping the sequences of TEG13. TEG7 and TEG6, a hybrid cDNA molecule of 1757 bp length, containing a continuous open reading frame, is formed. The encoded polypeptide exhibits 68.1% identity to amino acids 135 to 717 of lupin exo- galactanase. In order to obtain the sequence information at the 5' end of this clone, 3 subsequent RACE experiments were performed on the 5' tomato cDNA pool (5 μl). 1st 5' RACE In the first round of PCR amplification, the primer 13A2 (position 106-86 in TEG13 and 524-504 in fig. 5) was used in combination with the outer adaptor primer (R Q ) to amplify sequences from the 5' cDNA pool. In the second round of PCR, the primer 13A5 (position 62-42 in TEG13 and 480-460 in fig. 5) was used in combination with the inner adaptor primer (R . A specific fragment of 214 bp was recovered from a 0.8 % agarose gel using DEAE paper, cloned into plasmid pT7 and transformed into competent E. coli . The resultant clone was called 5'TEGl. l and had a 62 bp overlap with the hybrid cDNA molecule, extending the sequence to 1909 bp. 2nd 5' RACE 2 new primers, 1A1 (position 28-8 in 5'TEG1.1 and 294-274 in fig. 5) and 1A2 (position 63-43 in 5'TEGl.l and 329-309 in fig. 5) were designed for use in a second RACE experiment. Primer 1A2 was used in the first round of amplification of the 5' cDNA pool and primer 1A1 in the second round of amplification, in combination with Ro and R. respectively. A fragment of 206 bp, was obtained, purified, cloned and sequenced as described above. The clone was called 5 EG1.2 and had a 26 bp overlap with the extended hybrid cDNA molecule, further extending the sequence to 2089 bp. The 5' end of the extended sequence encoded the C terminal 10 amino acids of a signal peptide followed by the mature N-terminus of tomato exo-galactanase (11/12 amino acids conserved with the N-terminus of purified tomato exogalactanase described above). 3rd 5' RACE In order to obtain sequence encoding a complete signal peptide, 2 further primers, 1A6 (position 52-32 in 5 EG1.2 and 138-118 in fig. 5) and 1A7 (position 32-12 in 5 EG1.2 and 118-98 in fig. 5) were synthezised. Primer 1A6 was used in a first round of amplification and primer 1A7 in the second round, as described above. A cDNA product of 117 bp was obtained, purified, cloned and sequenced as above. The clone was called 5 EG1.3 and had a 32 bp overlap with the extended hybrid cDNA molecule, further extending the sequence to 2175bp. The extended sequence encoded a complete signal peptide of 25 aa. 3' RACE In order to obtain a cDNA molecule corresponding to the 3' end of the TEG1 gene, a RACE experiment was carried out on a 3'cDNA pool derived from reverse transcription of tomato fruit (breaker stage) total RNA with MuMLV-RT and the (dT) 17 -R r Ro primer. The primer 6S2 (position 340-360 in TEG6 and 2100-2120 in fig. 5) was used in the first PCR reaction, in combination with R<, and the primer 6S3 (position 373-393 in TEG6 and 2133-2153 in fig. 5) in the second (nested) PCR reaction, in combination with R^. The resultant RACE product was 812 bp long and had a 43bp overlap with the extended hybrid cDNA molecule, further extending the sequence to 2944bp, including 23 "A"s ("T"s) at the 3' end. The complete TEG1 cDNA sequence (Seq ID No. 18) is shown in Figure 5 and was found to contain a 2514 bp long open reading frame (nucleotide 42 to 2555) encoding a polypeptide (Seq ID No. 19) of 838 amino acids. The signal sequence cleavage site is marked with an arrow. The mature exo-galactanase protein encoded by ' TEGl (minus a 25 amino acid signal peptide) is 813 amino acids in length, has a molecular weight of 90,623 daltons and exhibits 70% homology (Lipman-Pearson algorithum, gap penalty: 4, K tuple: 2, length: 12) with the mature exo-galactanase protein encoded by the lupin cDNA and may therefore be regarded as functionally equivalent to the lupin enzyme. In Figure 5._ nucleotide 1445 is shown as a Y (IUPAC code) whilst in Seq. ID No. 18 in the sequence listing the nucleotide is shown as T. This is purely for convenience: the precise identity of the nucleotide is uncertain. It will be appreciated that, as the nucleotide is at position 3 of a codon, its precise identity is not critical. It will further be noted that the deduced amino acid sequence of the polypeptide encoded by TEG1 differs slightly from the N-terminal sequence of the purified polypeptide as determined by peptide sequencing. Presumably there are a number (at least two) of related genes (e.g. allelic variants) in tomato plants which encode functionally equivalent enzymes having slightly different amino acid sequences. Figure 6 shows a comparison of the full length amino acid sequences of the lupin enzyme (LEGllCON.pro) and the tomato enzyme (CONTIG.TEGl.PRO). The tomato sequence is shown boxed, and the boxed regions include those portions of the lupin enzyme where the sequence is identical to that of the tomato enzyme. It will be observed that there are several portions of extensive homology (e.g. tomato residues 120-138 & lupin residues 128-146; tomato residues 396-408 & lupin residues 404-416) which may be important to the catalytic function of the molecules. Construction of plant transformation vectors for antisense experiments. In order to assess the phenotypic consequences of down regulating the expression of TEG1 in transgenic plants, plant transformation vectors were constructed for antisense experiments. The vectors were transferred into Agrobacterium tumefaciens LBA4404. Tomato cotyledons (variety "Moneymaker") were infected with A. tumefaciens carrying the vectors. The vector p35S/TEGlA was constructed by inserting a 1082 bp Sstl/Xbal fragment of TEG1 (419-1500) in the antisense orientation between the constitutive 35S promoter and the nos polyadenylation signal of pKan35S. The vector p35S/TEGlB was constructed by inserting a 511 bp Sstl/Xbal fragment of TEG1 (1292-1802) in the antisense orientation between the constitutive 35S promoter and the nos polyadenylation site of pKan35S. The vector pKan35S was constructed by inserting a 0.8kb Hindlll-Xba fragment, containing a 35S cauliflower mosaic virus constitutive promoter (from the vector pcTAK. which vector is described by Toepfer et al. , 1987 NAR 15, 5890 et seq.), behind the nos poly-adenylation site of pGPTV-kan (Becker et al. , 1992 Plant Molecular Biology 20. 1195-1197). The vector pPG/TEGIA was constructed by inserting a 1082 bp Pstl/Blunt/SstI fragment of TEGl (419-1500) in the antisense orientation between a fruit-specific (-942 to +33) PG promoter (Bird et al , 1988 Plant Molecular Biology 11, 651-662) and the nos polyadenylation site of pGPTV-kan. SEQUENCE LISTING (1) GENERAL INFORMATION: (i) APPLICANT: (A) NAME: Unilever PLC (B) STREET: Unilever House. Blackfriars (C) CITY: London (E) COUNTRY: United Kingdom (F) POSTAL CODE (ZIP): EC4P 4BQ (A) NAME: Unilever NV (B) STREET: 455 Weena (C) CITY: Rotterdam (E) COUNTRY: Netherlands (F) POSTAL CODE (ZIP): 3013 AL (ii) TITLE OF INVENTION: Novel Exo-(l-4)-Beta-D galactanase (iii) NUMBER OF SEQUENCES: 19 (iv) COMPUTER READABLE FORM: (A) MEDIUM TYPE: Floppy disk (B) COMPUTER: IBM PC compatible (C) OPERATING SYSTEM: PC-DOS/MS-DOS (D) SOFTWARE: PatentIn Release #1.0. Version #1.30 (EPO) (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:l: (1) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 2628 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: CDS (B) LOCATION:130..2322 (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:l: CAACACTCπ ATACAATAAG AGACTCTCAA AAAGTAGCAA AATAAAAAGA CACTATATAC 60 AAAACAGAAA ATATTTCπC πCTATAGAA AGACAACAπ GCπATATAG AAACATAGCA 120 ATG Tπ GGT TCA AGA Aπ GTG ATG GAG AGT πA ATG TCT 168 Met Phe Gly Ser Arg He Val Met Glu Ser Leu Met Ser 1 5 10 AGG AGA AAT Tπ CAT ATG GTG πG CTG HA πG TTT TTT TGG Gπ TGT 216 Arg Arg Asn Phe His Met Val Leu Leu Leu Leu Phe Phe Trp Val Cys 15 20 25 TAT GTC ACA GCC TCT Gπ ACT TAT GAT CAT AAA GCC Aπ ATG Aπ AAT 264 Tyr Val Thr Ala Ser Val Thr Tyr Asp His Lys Ala He Met He Asn 30 35 40 45 GGG CAG AGA AGA Aπ TJG ATC TCT GGT TCC Aπ CAC TAT CCA AGA AGC 312 Gly Gin Arg Arg He Leu He Ser Gly Ser He His Tyr Pro Arg Ser 50 55 60 ACA CCT CAG ATG TGG CCA GAC Cπ Aπ CAA AAG GCC AAA GAT GGA GGG 360 Thr Pro Gin Met Trp Pro Asp Leu He Gin Lys Ala Lys Asp Gly Gly 65 70 75 Cπ GAT Gπ ATA GAG ACT TAT GTG πC TGG AAT GGA CAT GAA CCT TCT 408 Leu Asp Val He Glu Thr Tyr Val Phe Trp Asn Gly His Glu Pro Ser 80 85 90 CCT GGA AAA TAT TAT Tπ GAG GAT AGG Tπ GAC Cπ Gπ GGG πC ATA 456 Pro Gly Lys Tyr Tyr Phe Glu Asp Arg Phe Asp Leu Val Gly Phe He 95 100 105 AAG πG Gπ CAG CAA GCT GGT CTA TTT Gπ CAT CTC AGG Aπ GGT CCT 504 Lys Leu Val Gin Gin Ala Gly Leu Phe Val His Leu Arg He Glv Pro 110 115 120 125 πC ATA TGT GCT GAA TGG AAC TTT GGA GGA TTT CCT Gπ TGG CTC AAA 552 Phe He Cys Ala Glu Trp Asn Phe Gly Gly Phe Pro Val Trp Leu Lys 130 135 140 TAT Gπ CCT GGT Aπ GCT πC AGA ACA GAC AAT GAG CCT πC AAG GAG 600 Tyr Val Pro Gly He Ala Phe Arg Thr Asp Asn Glu Pro Phe Lys Glu 145 150 155 GCA ATG CAA AAA πC ACT GAG AAG Aπ GTA AAT ATA ATG AAA GCA GAG 648 Ala Met Gin Lys Phe Thr Glu Lys He Val Asn He Met Lys Ala Glu 160 165 170 AAG πG πT CAA TCC CAG GGA GGT CCA ATA Aπ CTG TCT CAG ATA GAG 696 Lys Leu Phe Gin Ser Gin Gly Gly Pro He He Leu Ser Gin He Glu 175 180 185 AAT GAG TAT GGA CCA GTG GAA TGG GAA Aπ GGT GCT CCT GGA AAA GCT 744 Asn Glu Tyr Gly Pro Val Glu Trp Glu He Gly Ala Pro Gly Lys Ala 190 195 200 205 TAT ACC AAA TGG GCT GCT CAA ATG GCT GTA GGT CTA GAT ACT GGT GTC 792 Tyr Thr Lys Trp Ala Ala Gin Met Ala Val Gly Leu Asp Thr Gly Val 210 215 220 CCA TGG Gπ ATG TGC AAG CAA GAA GAT GCA Cπ GAT CCT Aπ Aπ GAT 840 Pro Trp Val Met Cys Lys Gin Glu Asp Ala Leu Asp Pro He He Asp 225 230 235 ACC TGC AAT GGA Tπ TAC TGT GAA AAC πC ACT CCA AAC AAG AAC TAC 888 Thr Cys Asn Gly Phe Tyr Cys Glu Asn Phe Thr Pro Asn Lys Asn Tyr 240 245 250 AAA CCC AAA πG TGG ACA GAA AAT TGG ACT GGC TGG TAC ACT GCT TTT 936 Lys Pro Lys Leu Trp Thr Glu Asn Trp Thr Gly Trp Tyr Thr Ala Phe 255 260 265 GGT GGT GCA ACC CCT TAT AGA CCA GCA GAA GAT ATA GCA Tπ TCA Gπ 984 Gly Gly Ala Thr Pro Tyr Arg Pro Ala Glu Asp He Ala Phe Ser Val 270 275 280 285 GCC AGA πC Aπ CAG AAT CGC GGC TCA CTC Tπ AAC TAC TAT ATG TAT 1032 Ala Arg Phe He Gin Asn Arg Gly Ser Leu Phe Asn Tyr Tyr Met Tyr 290 295 300 CAT GGA GGA ACT AAC TTT GGC CGG ACA TCG AAT GGC CTC πC Gπ GCC 1080 His Gly Gly Thr Asn Phe Gly Arg Thr Ser Asn Gly Leu Phe Val Ala 305 310 315 ACA AGT TAT GAC TAT GAT GCT CCC Aπ GAT GAA TAT GGA Cπ CTA AAT 1128 Thr Ser Tyr Asp Tyr Asp Ala Pro He Asp Glu Tyr Gly Leu Leu Asn 320 325 330 GAA CCA AAA TGG GGG CAT CTG AGA GAA πA CAT AGA GCA ATA AAA CAA 1176 Glu Pro Lys Trp Gly His Leu Arg Glu Leu His Arg Ala He Lys Gin 335 340 345 TGC GAG TCG GCT πA GTG TCG GTG GAT CCC ACA GTG TCA TGG CCT GGA 1224 Cys Glu Ser Ala Leu Val Ser Val Asp Pro Thr Val Ser Trp Pro Gly 350 355 360 365 AAA AAC Cπ GAG GTA CAT πG TAC AAG ACA GAG TCT GCC TGT GCT GCA 1272 Lys Asn Leu Glu Val His Leu Tyr Lys Thr Glu Ser Ala Cys Ala Ala 370 375 380 Tπ Cπ GCA AAT TAT AAC ACC GAC TAT TCA ACG CAA Gπ AAA πC GGA 1320 Phe Leu Ala Asn Tyr Asn Thr Asp Tyr Ser Thr Gin Val Lys Phe Gly 385 390 395 AAT GGA CAA TAT GAT CTA CCA CCT TGG TCT ATC AGT Aπ Cπ CCT GAC 1368 Asn Gly Gin Tyr Asp Leu Pro Pro Trp Ser He Ser He Leu Pro Asp 400 405 410 TGC AAA ACT GAA Gπ πC AAC ACT GCA AAG Gπ AAT TCC CCG AGA πA 1416 Cys Lys Thr Glu Val Phe Asn ihr Ala Lys Val Asn Ser Pro Arg Leu 415 420 425 CAT AGG AAA ATG ACT CCA GTA AAC AGT GCA TTT GCT TGG CAG TCA TAC 1464 His Arg Lys Met Thr Pro Val Asn Ser Ala Phe Ala Trp Gin Ser Tyr 430 435 440 445 AAT GAA GAA CCT GCA TCA TCA AGC GAA AAT GAT CCC GTC ACA GGA TAT 1512 Asn Glu Glu Pro Ala Ser Ser Ser Glu Asn Asp Pro Val Thr Gly Tyr 450 455 460 GCA CTA TGG GAG CAG Gπ GGC GTG ACC CGC GAT TCT TCC GAT TAT πG 1560 Ala Leu Trp Glu Gin Val Gly Val Thr Arg Asp Ser Ser Asp Tyr Leu 465 470 475 TGG TAC CTG ACA GAT GTC AAC Aπ GGT CCT AAT GAT ATA AAG GAT GGG 1608 Trp Tyr Leu Thr Asp Val Asn He Gly Pro Asn Asp He Lys Asp Gly 480 485 490 AAA TGG CCT Gπ CTG ACA GCA ATG TCA GCA GGT CAT Gπ CTG AAT Gπ 1656 Lys Trp Pro Val Leu Thr Ala Met Ser Ala Gly His Val Leu Asn Val 495 500 505 πC ATC AAT GGT CAA TAT GCA GGA ACT GCA TAT GGG AGT CTA GAT GAT 1704 Phe He Asn Gly Gin Tyr Ala Gly Thr Ala Tyr Gly Ser Leu Asp Asp 510 515 520 525 CCT AGA πA ACA πT AGT CAA AGT GTG AAT CTG AGA Gπ GGC AAT AAC 1752 Pro Arg Leu Thr Phe Ser Gin Ser Val Asn Leu Arg Val Gly Asn Asn 530 535 540 AAG Aπ TCT πA cπ AGT Gπ TCC Gπ GGT CTC GCG AAT Gπ GGT ACT ISOO Lys He Ser Leu Leu Ser Val Ser Val Gly Leu Ala Asn Val Gly Thr 545 550 555 CAC Tπ GAG ACA TGG AAT ACT GGA GTG Cπ GGT CCA GTC ACA CTG ACA 1848 His Phe Glu Thr Trp Asn Thr Gly Val Leu Gly Pro Val Thr Leu Thr 560 565 570 GGT CTA AGT AGC GGA ACA TGG GAT Cπ TCG AAG CAA AAA TGG TCT TAC 1896 Gly Leu Ser Ser Gly Thr Trp Asp Leu Ser Lys Gin Lys Trp Ser Tyr 575 580 585 AAG Aπ GGT CTG AAA GGT GAA AGC πG AGC Cπ CAT ACT GAA GCT GGG 1944 Lys He Gly Leu Lys Gly Glu Ser Leu Ser Leu His Thr Glu Ala Gly 590 595 600 605 AGT AAC TCT Gπ GAA TGG GTA CAA GGA TCT πA GTG GCT AAA AAA CAA 1992 Ser Asn Ser Val Glu Trp Val Gin Gly Ser Leu Val Ala Lys Lys Gin 610 615 620 CCT πG GCA TGG TAT AAG ACA ACT Tπ AGC GCA CCA GCC GGC AAC GAT 2040 Pro Leu Ala Trp Tyr Lys Thr Thr Phe Ser Ala Pro Ala Gly Asn Asp 625 630 635 CCG πG GCT CTG GAT πA GGT AGC ATG GGT AAG GGT GAA GTA TGG GTA 2088 Pro Leu Ala Leu Asp Leu Gly Ser Met Gly Lys Gly Glu Val Trp Val 640 645 650 AAT GGT CAA AGC Aπ GGA CGC CAT TGG CCT GGA AAT AAA GCT CGT GGT 2136 Asn Gly Gin Ser He Gly Arg His Trp Pro Gly Asn Lys Ala Arg Gly 655 660 665 AAT TGC GGC AAT TGT AAT TAC GCT GGA ACT TAT ACC GAT ACA AAA TGC 2184 Asn Cys Gly Asn Cys Asn Tyr Ala Gly Thr Tyr Thr Asp Thr Lys Cys 670- 675 680 685 πA GCA AAC TGT GGA CAA CCC TCC CAA AGA TGG TAT CAT Gπ CCT CGG 2232 Leu Ala Asn Cys Gly Gin Pro Ser Gin Arg Trp Tyr His Val Pro Arg 690 695 700 TCA TGG CTG AGA TCG GGT GGT AAC TAC πG Gπ GTG CTA GAA GAA TGG 2280 Ser Trp Leu Arg Ser Gly Gly Asn Tyr Leu Val Val Leu Glu Glu Trp 705 710 715 GGA GGT GAT CCT AAT GGA Aπ GCT πG GTG GAA AGA ACA TAA 2322 Gly Gly Asp Pro Asn Gly He Ala Leu Val Glu Arg Thr * 720 725 730 AGTGTAπCA TGTGATACCA AATGTACATG πATGTACAT AGTGAAACTA πATGCTGAA 2382 TAπGπCCA TATACTACAT TACAGGGTTT GTGTCACAAT GAACAπGAG TCCπAAACA 2442 πGGTATAGA AGGGAAAGAG πGAATACCC AAAATGGGTC AAAATACTAC AπGTCCTAG 2502 AAATAGATπ CπTCAπTT CTATATCAAC TAπATGTAA GAACAAAπG AAAGTAATAC 2562 TAATAAATAG TGATGCA1TT GGAπAAAAA AAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAA 2622 AAAAAA 2628 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID N0:2: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 731 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID N0:2: Met Phe Gly Ser Arg He Val Met Glu Ser Leu Met Ser Arg Arg Asn 1 5 10 15 Phe His Met Val Leu Leu Leu Leu Phe Phe Trp Val Cys Tyr Val Thr 20 25 30 Ala Ser Val Thr Tyr Asp His Lys Ala He Met He Asn Gly Gin Arg 35 40 . 45 Arg He Leu He Ser Gly Ser He His Tyr Pro Arg Ser Thr Pro Gin 50 55 60 Met Trp Pro Asp Leu He Gin Lys Ala Lys Asp Gly Gly Leu Asp Val 65 70 75 80 He Glu Thr Tyr Val Phe Trp Asn Gly His Glu Pro Ser Pro Gly Lys 85 90 95 Tyr Tyr Phe Glu Asp Arg Phe Asp Leu Val Gly Phe He Lys Leu Val 100 105 110 Gin Gin Ala Gly Leu Phe Val His Leu Arg He Gly Pro Phe He Cys 115 120 125 Ala Glu Trp Asn Phe Gly Gly Phe Pro Val Trp Leu Lys Tyr Val Pro 130 135 140 Gly He Ala Phe Arg Thr Asp Asn Glu Pro Phe Lys Glu Ala Met Gin 145 150 155 160 Lys Phe Thr Glu Lys He Val Asn He Met Lys Ala Glu Lys Leu Phe 165 170 175 Gin Ser Gin Gly Gly Pro He He Leu Ser Gin He Glu Asn Glu Tyr 180 185 190 Gly Pro Val Glu Trp Glu He Gly Ala Pro Gly Lys Ala Tyr Thr Lys 195 200 205 Trp Ala Ala Gin Met Ala Val Gly Leu Asp Thr Gly Val Pro Trp Val 210 215 220 Met Cys Lys Gin Glu Asp Ala Leu Asp Pro He He Asp Thr Cys Asn 225 230 235 240 Gly Phe Tyr Cys Glu Asn Phe Thr Pro Asn Lys Asn Tyr Lys Pro Lys 245 250 255 Leu Trp Thr Glu Asn Trp Thr Gly Trp Tyr Thr Ala Phe Gly Gly Ala 260 265 270 Thr Pro Tyr Arg Pro Ala Glu Asp He Ala Phe Ser Val Ala Arg Phe 275 280 285 He Gin Asn Arg Gly Ser Leu Phe Asn Tyr Tyr Met Tyr His Gly Gly 290 295 300 Thr Asn Phe Gly Arg Thr Ser Asn Gly Leu Phe Val Ala Thr Ser Tyr 305 310 315 320 Asp Tyr Asp Ala Pro He Asp Glu Tyr Gly Leu Leu Asn Glu Pro Lys 325 330 335 Trp Gly His Leu Arg Glu Leu His Arg Ala He Lys Gin Cys Glu Ser 340 345 350 Ala Leu Val Ser Val Asp Pro Thr Val Ser Trp Pro Gly Lys Asn Leu 355 360 365 Glu Val His Leu Tyr Lys Thr Glu Ser Ala Cys Ala Ala Phe Leu Ala 370 375 380 Asn Tyr Asn Thr Asp Tyr Ser Thr Gin Val Lys Phe Gly Asn Gly Gin 385 390 395 400 Tyr Asp Leu Pro Pro Trp Ser He Ser He Leu Pro Asp Cys Lys Thr 405 410 415 Glu Val Phe Asn Thr Ala Lys Val Asn Ser Pro Arg Leu His Arg Lys 420 425 430 Met Thr Pro Val Asn Ser Ala Phe Ala Trp Gin Ser Tyr Asn Glu Glu 435 440 445 Pro Ala Ser Ser Ser Glu Asn Asp Pro Val Thr Gly Tyr Ala Leu Trp 450 455 460 Glu Gin Val Gly Val Thr Arg Asp Ser Ser Asp Tyr Leu Trp Tyr Leu 465 470 475 480 Thr Asp Val Asn He Gly Pro Asn Asp He Lys Asp Gly Lys Trp Pro 485 490 495 Val Leu Thr Ala Met Ser Ala Gly His Val Leu Asn Val Phe He Asn 500 505 510 Gly Gin Tyr Ala Gly Thr Ala Tyr Gly Ser Leu Asp Asp Pro Arg Leu 515 520 525 Thr Phe Ser Gin Ser Val Asn Leu Arg Val Gly Asn Asn Lys He Ser 530 535 540 Leu Leu Ser Val Ser Val Gly Leu Ala Asn Val Gly Thr His Phe Glu 545 550 555 560 Thr Trp Asn Thr Gly Val Leu Gly Pro Val Thr Leu Thr Gly Leu Ser 565 570 575 Ser Gly Thr Trp Asp Leu Ser Lvs Gin Lys Trp Ser Tyr Lys He Gly 580 585 590 Leu Lys Gly Glu Ser Leu Ser Leu His Thr Glu Ala Gly Ser Asn Ser 595 600 605 Val Glu Trp Val Gin Gly Ser Leu Val Ala Lys Lys Gin Pro Leu Ala 610 615 620 Trp Tyr Lys Thr Thr Phe Ser Ala Pro Ala Gly Asn Asp Pro Leu Ala • 625 630 635 640 Leu Asp Leu Gly Ser Met Gly Lys Gly Glu Val Trp Val Asn Gly Gin 645 650 655 Ser He Gly Arg His Trp Pro Gly Asn Lys Ala Arg Gly Asn Cys Gly 660 665 670 Asn Cys Asn Tyr Ala Gly Thr Tyr Thr Asp Thr Lys Cys Leu Ala Asn 675 680 685 Cys Gly Gin Pro Ser Gin Arg Trp Tyr His Val Pro Arg Ser Trp Leu 690 695 700 Arg Ser Gly Gly Asn Tyr Leu Val Val Leu Glu Glu Trp Gly Gly Asp 705 710 715 720 Pro Asn Gly He Ala Leu Val Glu Arg Thr * 725 730 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:3: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 19 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO ( v ) FRAGMENT TYPE : N-termi nal (xi ) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION : SEQ ID NO : 3 : Ser Val Thr Tyr Asp Hi s Lys Al a H e Met H e Asn Gly Gi n Arg Arg 1 5 10 15 Leu H e Ser (2) ' INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:4: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 12 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: N-terminal (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID N0:4: Ser Val Thr Tyr Asp His Lys Ala He Met He Asn 1 5 10 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:5: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 10 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: N-terminal (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:5: Val Ala Lys Lys Gin Pro Leu Ala Trp Tyr 1 5 10 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:6: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 23 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID N0:6: ATCATDATNG CYπRTGRTC RTA 23 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:7: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 13 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: N-termi nal (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:7: Val Ala Lys Lys Gin Pro Leu Ala Trp Tyr Lys Thr Thr 1 5 10 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:8: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 10 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: internal (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:8: Phe Ser Ala Pro Ala Gly Asn Asp Pro Leu 1 5 10 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID N0:9: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 11 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: internal (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID N0:9: Gly Gl u Val Trp Val Asn Gly Gi n Ser H e Gly 1 5 10 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:10: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 16 amino acids (B) TYPE: ami no aci d (C) STRANDEDNESS: (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: internal (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:10: Gly Asn Cys Gly Asn Cys Asn Tyr Ala Gly Thr Tyr Thr Asp Thr Lys 1 5 10 15 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:11: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 9 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: N-terminal (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:11: Ser Val Ser Tyr Asp Asp Arg Ala He 1 5 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:12: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 20 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: (D) TOPOLOGY: linear • (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: peptide (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (v) FRAGMENT TYPE: N-terminal (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:12: Phe Ser Asn Asn Asn Phe Val Ala Thr Asp Gly Thr His Phe Ala Leu 1 5 10 15 Asn Gly Lys Ser 20 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:13: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 21 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (i i ) MOLECULE TYPE: other nuclei c aci d (A) DESCRIPTION : /desc = "syntheti c ol igonucleoti de" ( i i i ) HYPOTHETICAL : NO ( i v) ANTI -SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:13: ACTCCTGGAT CCCGTCAGTA T 21 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:14: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 22 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: other nucleic acid (A) DESCRIPTION: /desc = "synthetic oligonucleotide" (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:14: TAATGGTACC GACCGGCGCT CT 22 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:15: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 17 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: other nucleic acid (A) DESCRIPTION: /desc = "synthetic oligonucleotide" (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:15: AAGGATCCGT CGACATC 17 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:16: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 57 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: other nucleic acid (A) DESCRIPTION: /desc = "synthetic oligonucleotide" (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:16: AAGGATCCGT CGACATCGAT AATACGACTC ACTATAGGGA MIMMiil Mlllll 57 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:17: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 17 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: other nucleic acid (A) DESCRIPTION: /desc = "synthetic oligonucleotide" (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:17: GACATCGATA ATACGAC 17 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:18: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 2944 base pairs (B) TYPE: nucleic acid (C) STRANDEDNESS: single (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: cDNA (iii) HYPOTHETICAL: NO (iv) ANTI-SENSE: NO (ix) FEATURE: (A) NAME/KEY: CDS (B) LOCATION:42..2555 (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:18: TTAAAAAGGC ACAATCπGA TAGAAAAGGA GATAATπTA C ATG GGT TGT ACG 53 Met Gly Cys Thr 1 Cπ ATA CTA ATG πG AAT GTG πG πG GTG πG πG GGT TCA TGG Gπ 101 Leu He Leu Met Leu Asn Val Leu Leu Val Leu Leu Gly Ser Trp Val 5 10 15 20 Tπ TCT GGA ACA GCT TCT Gπ TCA TAT GAC CAT AGG GCT Aπ Aπ GTA 149 Phe Ser Gly Thr Ala Ser Val Ser Tyr Asp His Arg Ala He He Val 25 30 35 AAT GGA CAA AGA AGA ATA Cπ Aπ TCT GGT TCT Gπ CAT TAT CCA AGA 197 Asn Gly Gin Arg Arg He Leu He Ser Gly Ser Val His Tyr Pro Arg 40 45 50 AGC ACT CCT GAG ATG TGG CCA GGT Aπ Aπ CAA AAG GCT AAA GAA GGA 245 Ser Thr Pro Glu Met Trp Pro Gly He He Gin Lys Ala Lys Glu Gly 55 60 65 GGT GTG GAT GTG Aπ CAG ACT TAT Gπ πC TGG AAT GGA CAT GAG CCT 293 Gly Val Asp Val He Gin Thr Tyr Val Phe Trp Asn Gly His Glu Pro 70 75 80 CAA CAA GGG AAA TAT TAT Tπ GAA GGG AGA TAT GAT πA GTG AAG Tπ 341 Gin Gin Gly Lys Tyr Tyr Phe Glu Gly Arg Tyr Asp Leu Val Lys Phe 85 90 95 100 Aπ AAG CTG GTG CAC CAA GCA GGA Cπ TAT GTC CAT Cπ AGA Gπ GGA 389 He Lys Leu Val His Gin Ala Gly Leu Tyr Val His Leu Arg Val Gly 105 110 115 CCT TAT GCT TGT GCT GAA TGG AAT Tπ GGG GGC πT CCT Gπ TGG CTG 437 Pro Tyr Ala Cys Ala Glu Trp Asn Phe Gly Gly Phe Pro Val Trp Leu 120 125 130 AAA TAT Gπ CCA GGT ATC AGT πC AGA ACA GAT AAT GGA CCT πC AAG 485 Lys Tyr Val Pro Gly He Ser Phe Arg Thr Asp Asn Gly Pro Phe Lys 135 140 145 GCT GCA ATG CAA AAA TT ACT GCC AAG Aπ GTC AAT ATG ATG AAA GCG 533 Ala Ala Met Gin Lys Phe Thr Ala Lys He Val Asn Met Met Lys Ala 150 155 160 GAA CGT πG TAT GAA ACT CAA GGG GGG CCA ATA Aπ πA TCT CAG Aπ 581 Glu Arg Leu Tyr Glu Thr Gin Gly Gly Pro He He Leu Ser Gin He 165 170 175 180 GAG AAT GAA TAT GGA CCC ATG GAA TGG GAA CTG GGA GCA CCA GGT AAA 629 Glu Asn Glu Tyr Gly Pro Met Glu Trp Glu Leu Gly Ala Pro Gly Lys 185 190 195 TCT TAC GCA CAG TGG GCC GCC AAA ATG GCT GTG GGT CTT GAC ACT GGT 677 Ser Tyr Ala Gin Trp Ala Ala Lys Met Ala Val Gly Leu Asp Thr Gly 200 205 210 GTC CCA TGG Gπ ATG TGC AAG CAA GAC GAT GCC CCT GAT CCT Aπ ATA 725 Val Pro Trp Val Met Cys Lys Gin Asp Asp Ala Pro Asp Pro He He 215 220 225 AAT GCT TGC AAT GGC πC TAC TGT GAC TAC TTT TCT CCA AAC AAG GCT 773 Asn Ala Cys Asn Gly Phe Tyr Cys Asp Tyr Phe Ser Pro Asn Lys Ala 230 235 240 TAT AAA CCA AAG ATA TGG ACT GAA GCC TGG ACT GCA TGG Tπ ACT GGT 821 Tyr Lys Pro Lys He Trp Thr Glu Ala Trp Thr Ala Trp Phe Thr Gly 245 250 255 260 Tπ GGA AAT CCA Gπ CCT TAC CGT CCT GCT GAG GAC πG GCA πT TCT 869 Phe Gly Asn Pro Val Pro Tyr Arg Pro Ala Glu Asp Leu Ala Phe Ser 265 270 275 Gπ GCA AAA TTT ATA CAG AAG GGA GGT TCC πC ATC AAT TAT TAC ATG 917 Val Ala Lys Phe He Gin Lys Gly Gly Ser Phe He Asn Tyr Tyr Met 280 285 290 TAT CAT GGA GGA ACA AAC Tπ GGA CGG ACT GCT GGT GGT CCA Tπ Aπ 965 Tyr His Gly Gly Thr Asn Phe Gly Arg Thr Ala Gly Gly Pro Phe He 295 300 305 GCT ACT AGT TAT GAC TAT GAT GCA CCA Cπ GAT GAA TAT GGA πA πG 1013 Ala Thr Ser Tyr Asp Tyr Asp Ala Pro Leu Asp Glu Tyr Gly Leu Leu 310 315 320 CGA CAA CCA AAA TGG GGT CAC CTG AAA GAT CTG CAT AGA GCA ATA AAG 1061 Arg Gin Pro Lys Trp Gly His Leu Lys Asp Leu His Arg Ala He Lys 325 330 335 340 Cπ TGT GAA CCA GCT πA GTC TCT GGA GAT CCA GCT GTG ACA GCA CTT 1109 Leu Cys Glu Pro Ala Leu Val Ser Gly Asp Pro Ala Val Thr Ala Leu 345 350 355 GGA CAC CAG CAG GAG GCC CAT Gπ πT AGG TCG AAG GCT GGC TCT TGT 1157 Gly His Gin Gin Glu Ala His Val Phe Arg Ser Lys Ala Gly Ser Cys 360 365 370 GCT GCA πC Cπ GCT AAC TAC GAC CAA CAC TCT Tπ GCT ACT GTG TCA 1205 Ala Ala Phe Leu Ala Asn Tyr Asp Gin His Ser Phe Ala Thr Val Ser 375 380 385 TTT GCA AAC AGG CAT TAC AAC πG CCA CCA TGG TCA ATC AGC Aπ Cπ 1253 Phe Ala Asn Arg His Tyr Asn Leu Pro Pro Trp Ser He Ser He Leu 390 395 400 CCC GAC TGC AAG AAC ACT GTA TTT AAT ACA GCA CGG ATC GGT GCT CAA 1301 Pro Asp Cys Lys Asn Thr Val Phe Asn Thr Ala Arg He Gly Ala Gin 405 410 415 420 AGT GCT CAG ATG AAG ATG ACT CCA GTC AGC AGA GGA JJG CCC TGG CAG 1349 Ser Ala Gin Met Lys Met Thr Pro Val Ser Arg Gly Leu Pro Trp Gin 425 430 435 TCA πC AAT GAA GAG ACA TCA TCT TAT GAA GAC AGT AGT Tπ ACA Gπ 1397 Ser Phe Asn Glu Glu Thr Ser Ser Tyr Glu Asp Ser Ser Phe Thr Val 440 445 450 Gπ GGG CTA πG GAA CAG ATA AAT ACA ACA AGA GAC GTG TCT GAT TAT 1445 Val Gly Leu Leu Glu Gin He Asn Thr Thr Arg Asp Val Ser Asp Tyr 455 460 465 πG TGG TAT TCA ACA GAT GTC AAG Aπ GAT TCA AGA GAA AAG Tπ πG 1493 Leu Trp Tyr Ser Thr Asp Val Lys He Asp Ser Arg Glu Lys Phe Leu 470 475 480 AGA GGC GGA AAA TGG CCT TGG Cπ ACG ATC ATG TCA GCT GGG CAT GCA 1541 Arg Gly Gly Lys Trp Pro Trp Leu Thr He Met Ser Ala Gly His Ala 485 490 495 .500 πG CAT Gπ πT GTG AAT GGT CAA πA GCA GGA ACT GCA TAT GGA AGT 1589 Leu His Val Phe Val Asn Gly Gin Leu Ala Gly Thr Ala Tyr Gly Ser 505 510 515 TTA GAA AAA CCG AAA CTA ACT πC AGT AAA GCC GTA AAT CTG AGA GCA 1637 Leu Glu Lys Pro Lys Leu Thr Phe Ser Lys Ala Val Asn Leu Arg Ala 520 525 530 GGT Gπ AAC AAG Aπ TCT CTA CTG AGC Aπ GCT Gπ GGC Cπ CCG AAT 1685 Gly Val Asn Lys He Ser Leu Leu Ser He Ala Val Gly Leu Pro Asn 535 540 545 ATC GGC CCA CAT Tπ GAG ACA TGG AAT GCT GGT Gπ Cπ GGG CCA GTC 1733 He Gly Pro His Phe Glu Thr Trp Asn Ala Gly Val Leu Gly Pro Val 550 555 560 TCA CTA ACT GGT Cπ GAC GAG GGG AAA AGA GAT πA ACA TGG CAG AAA 1781 Ser Leu Thr Gly Leu Asp Glu Gly Lys Arg Asp Leu Thr Trp Gin Lys 565 570 575 580 TGG πC TAC AAG Gπ GGT CTA AAA GGA GAA GCC CTG AGT Cπ CAT TCA 1829 Trp Phe Tyr Lys Val Gly Leu Lys Gly Glu Ala Leu Ser Leu His Ser 585 590 595 CTC AGT GGT AGC CCA TCC GTG GAG TGG GTG GAA GGC TCT πA GTG GCA 1877 Leu Ser Gly Ser Pro Ser Val Glu Trp Val Glu Gly Ser Leu Val Ala 600 605 610 CAG AAG CAG CCA CTC AGT TGG TAT AAG ACT ACA πC AAT GCT CCA GAT 1925 Gin Lys Gin Pro Leu Ser Trp Tyr Lys Thr Thr Phe Asn Ala Pro Asp 615 620 625 GGA AAT GAA CCT πG GCT πA GAT ATG AAT ACC ATG GGC AAA GGT CAA 1973 Gly Asn Glu Pro Leu Ala Leu Asp Met Asn Thr Met Gly Lys Gly Gin 630 635 640 GTA TGG ATA AAT GGT CAG AGC CTC GGA CGC CAC TGG CCT GCA TAT AAA 2021 Val Trp He Asn Gly Gin Ser Leu Gly Arg His irp Pro Ala Tyr Lys 645 650 655 660 TCA TCT GGA AGT TGT AGT GTC TGT AAC TAT ACT GGC TGG Tπ GAT GAG 2069 Ser Ser Gly Ser Cys Ser Val Cys Asn Tyr Thr Gly Trp Phe Asp Glu 665 670 675 AAA AAG TGC CTA ACT AAC TGT GGT GAG GGC TCA CAA AGA TGG TAC CAC 2117 Lys Lys Cys Leu Thr Asn Cys Gly Glu Gly Ser Gin Arg Trp Tyr His 680 685 690 GTA CCC CGG TCT TGG CTG TAT CCT ACT GGA AAT πG πA Gπ GTA πC 2165 Val Pro Arg Ser Trp Leu Tyr Pro Thr Gly Asn Leu Leu Val Val Phe 695 700 705 GAG GAA TGG GGA GGA GAT CCT TAT GGA ATC ACT πA GTC AAA AGA GAA 2213 Glu Glu Trp Gly Gly Asp Pro Tyr Gly He Thr Leu Val Lys Arg Glu 710 715 720 ATA GGG AGT Gπ TGT GCT GAT ATA TAT GAG TGG CAA CCA CAG πA πG 2261 He Gly Ser Val Cys Ala Asp He Tyr Glu TrD Gin Pro Gin Leu Leu 725 730 735 740 AAT TGG CAG AGG CTA GTA TCT GGT AAG Tπ GAC AGA CCT CTC AGA CCT 2309 Asn Trp Gin Arg Leu Val Ser Gly Lys Phe Asp Arg Pro Leu Arg Pro 745 750 755 AAA GCC CAT CTT AAG TGT GCA CCT GGT CAG AAG Aπ TCT TCA ATC AAA 2357 Lys Ala His Leu Lys Cys Ala Pro Gly Gin Lys He Ser Ser He Lys 760 765 770 TTT GCA AGC TTT GGA ACA CCA GAG GGA Gπ TGT GGG AAC πC CAG CAG 2405 Phe Ala Ser Phe Glv Thr Pro Glu Gly Val Cys Gly Asn Phe Gin Gin 775 " 780 785 GGA AGC TGC CAT GCT CCG CGC TCA TAT GAT GCT πC AAA AAG AAT TGT 2453 Gly Ser Cvs His Ala Pro Arq Ser Tyr Asp Ala Phe Lys Lys Asn Cys 790 " 795 800 Gπ GGG AAA GAG TCT TGC TCA GTA CAG GTA ACA CCA GAG AAT TTT GGA 2501 Val Gly Lys Glu Ser Cys Ser Val Gin Val Thr Pro Glu Asn Phe Gly 805 810 815 820 GGT GAT CCA TGT CGA AAC Gπ CTA AAG AAA CTC TCA GTG GAA GCC Aπ 2549 Gly Asp Pro Cys Arg Asn Val Leu Lys Lys Leu Ser Val Glu Ala He 825 830 835 TGT AGT TGATAAπCT GAGTATACAA GTGAAAAAAT ACπGAACCA CTCATATAAA 2605 Cys Ser CATππCAA ACGAGCTACT AGACATCCAT TAACCCACAC TACCATππ TGGCTπGCT 2665 GGGGπGAAG πGTACAGπ AAGCAACACA CCTC1TTGAT CAAAGCTCAC CTGAπATGA 2725 AGATGAπGA CGAAAGAπC TGTACATGTA AGGTπCGTC TAAπACACA TACAGATATG 2785 AπcπGATG AATCGATGTG CAAATTTTGT πGTGπAGG GTGAGAGAGA CπGAAAAGC 2845 AππGCπT CATGATGπC TACAπATAC AATCATAATG TAAGTAAGCA AGCAATAAπ 2905 CAπGCπTG CACAπGAAA AAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAA 2944 (2) INFORMATION FOR SEQ ID NO:19: (i) SEQUENCE CHARACTERISTICS: (A) LENGTH: 838 amino acids (B) TYPE: amino acid (D) TOPOLOGY: linear (ii) MOLECULE TYPE: protein (xi) SEQUENCE DESCRIPTION: SEQ ID NO:19: Met Gly Cys Thr Leu He Leu Met Leu Asn Val Leu Leu Val Leu Leu 1 5 10 15 Gly Ser Trp Val Phe Ser Gly Thr Ala Ser Val Ser Tyr Asp His Arg 20 25 30 Ala He He Val Asn Gly Gin Arg Arg He Leu He Ser Gly Ser Val 35 40 45 His Tyr Pro Arg Ser Thr Pro Glu Met Trp Pro Gly He He Gin Lys 50 55 60 Ala Lys Glu Gly Gly Val Asp Val He Gin Thr Tyr Val Phe Trp Asn 65 70 75 80 Gly His Glu Pro Gin Gin Gly Lys Tyr Tyr Phe Glu Gly Arg Tyr Asp 85 90 95 Leu Val Lys Phe He Lys Leu Val His Gin Ala Gly Leu Tyr Val His 100 105 110 Leu Arg Val Gly Pro Tyr Ala Cys Ala Glu Trp Asn Phe Gly Gly Phe 115 120 125 Pro Val Trp Leu Lys Tyr Val Pro Gly He Ser Phe Arg Thr Asp Asn 130 135 140 Gly Pro Phe Lys Ala Ala Met Gin Lys Phe Thr Ala Lys He Val Asn 145 150 155 160 Met Met Lys Ala Glu Arg Leu Tyr Glu Thr Gin Gly Gly Pro He He 165 170 175 Leu Ser Gin He Glu Asn Glu Tyr Gly Pro Met Glu Trp Glu Leu Gly 180 185 190 Ala Pro Gly Lys Ser Tyr Ala Gin Trp Ala Ala Lys Met Ala Val Gly 195 200 205 Leu Asp Thr Gly Val Pro Trp Val Met Cys Lys Gin Asp Asp Ala Pro 210 215 220 Asp Pro He He Asn Ala Cys Asn Gly Phe Tyr Cys Asp Tyr Phe Ser 225 230 235 240 Pro Asn Lys Ala Tyr Lys Pro Lys He Trp Thr Glu Ala Trp Thr Ala 245 250 255 Trp Phe Thr Gly Phe Gly Asn Pro Val Pro Tyr Arg Pro Ala Glu Asp 260 265 270 Leu Ala Phe Ser Val Ala Lys Phe He Gin Lys Gly Gly Ser Phe He 275 280 285 Asn Tyr Tyr Met Tyr His Gly Gly Thr Asn Phe Gly Arg Thr Ala Gly 290 295 300 Gly Pro Phe He Ala Thr Ser Tyr Asp Tyr Asp Ala Pro Leu Asp Glu 305 310 315 320 Tyr Gly Leu Leu Arg Gin Pro Lys Trp Gly His Leu Lys Asp Leu His 325 330 335 Arg Ala He Lys Leu Cys Glu Pro Ala Leu Val Ser Gly Asp Pro Ala 340 345 350 Val Thr Ala Leu Gly His Gin Gin Glu Ala His Val Phe Arg Ser Lys 355 360 365 Ala Gly Ser Cys Ala Ala Phe Leu Ala Asn Tyr Asp Gin His Ser Phe 370 375 380 Ala Thr Val Ser Phe Ala Asn Arg His Tyr Asn Leu Pro Pro Trp Ser 385 390 395 400 He Ser He Leu Pro Asp Cys Lys Asn Thr Val Phe Asn Thr Ala Arg 405 410 415 He Gly Ala Gin Ser Ala Gin Met Lys Met Thr Pro Val Ser Arg Gly 420 425 430 Leu Pro Trp Gin Ser Phe Asn Glu Glu Thr Ser Ser Tyr Glu Asp Ser 435 440 445 Ser Phe Thr Val Val Gly Leu Leu Glu Gin He Asn Thr Thr Arg Asp 450 455 460 Val Ser Asp Tyr Leu Trp Tyr Ser Thr Asp Val Lys He Asp Ser Arg 465 470 475 480 Glu Lys Phe Leu Arg Gly Gly Lys Trp Pro Trp Leu Thr He Met Ser 485 490 495 Ala Gly His Ala Leu His Val Phe Val Asn Gly Gin Leu Ala Gly Thr 500 505 510 Ala Tyr Gly Ser Leu Glu Lys Pro Lys Leu Thr Phe Ser Lys Ala Val 515 520 525 Asn Leu Arg Ala Gly Val Asn Lys He Ser Leu Leu Ser He Ala Val 530 535 540 Gly Leu Pro Asn He Gly Pro His Phe Glu Thr Trp Asn Ala Gly Val 545 550 555 560 Leu Gly Pro Val Ser Leu Thr Gly Leu Asp Glu Gly Lys Arg Asp Leu 565 570 575 Thr Trp Gin Lys Trp Phe Tyr Lys Val Gly Leu Lys Gly Glu Ala Leu 580 585 590 Ser Leu His Ser Leu Ser Gly Ser Pro Ser Val Glu Trp Val Glu Gly 595 600 605 Ser Leu Val Ala Gin Lys Gin Pro Leu Ser Trp Tyr Lys Thr Thr Phe 610 615 620 Asn Ala Pro Asp Gly Asn Glu Pro Leu Ala Leu Asp Met Asn Thr Met 625 630 635 640 Gly Lys Gly Gin Val Trp He Asn Gly Gin Ser Leu Gly Arg His Trp 645 650 655 Pro Ala Tyr Lys Ser Ser Gly Ser Cys Ser Val Cys Asn Tyr Thr Gly 660 665 670 Trp Phe Asp Glu Lys Lys Cys Leu Thr Asn Cys Gly Glu Gly Ser Gin 675 680 685 Arg Trp Tyr His Val Pro Arg Ser Trp Leu Tyr Pro Thr Gly Asn Leu 690 695 700 Leu Val Val Phe Glu Glu Trp Gly Gly Asp Pro Tyr Gly He Thr Leu 705 710 715 720 Val Lys Arg Glu He Gly Ser Val Cys Ala Asp He Tyr Glu Trp Gin 725 730 735 Pro Gin Leu Leu Asn Trp Gin Arg Leu Val Ser Gly Lys Phe Asp Arg 740 745 750 Pro Leu Arg Pro Lys Ala His Leu Lys Cys Ala Pro Gly Gin Lys He 755 760 765 Ser Ser He Lys Phe Ala Ser Phe Gly Thr Pro Glu Gly Val Cys Gly 770 775 780 Asn Phe Gin Gin Gly Ser Cys His Ala Pro Arg Ser Tyr Asp Ala Phe 785 790 795 800 Lys Lys Asn Cys Val Gly Lys Glu Ser Cys Ser Val Gin Val Thr Pro 805 810 815 Glu Asn Phe Gly Gly Asp Pro Cvs Arg Asn Val Leu Lys Lys Leu Ser 820 " 825 830 Val Glu Ala He Cys Ser 835

Claims: Claims 1. A nucleotide sequence comprising substantially nucleotides 229 to 2319 of the sequence shown in Figure 1 encoding an enzyme having exo-(l→4)- J-D-galactanase activity or a precursor or derivative of such an enzyme, or the functional equivalent of such a nucleotide sequence. 2. A sequence according to claim 1, encoding a polypeptide having a molecular weight of 45 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE. 3. A sequence according to claim 1, encoding a polypeptide having a molecular weight of 60 kDa as determined by SDS-PAGE. 4. A sequence according to claim 1, 2 or 3, comprising an ATG start signal. 5. A sequence according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising the sequence selected from the group consisting of: nucleotides 163 to 228, nucleotides 151 to 228 and nucleotides 130 to 228. of the sequence shown in Figure 1. 6. A sequence according to claim 1 or claim 5, comprising nucleotides 229 to 2319 of the sequence shown in Figure 1. 7. A sequence according to claim 1, comprising substantially nucleotides 117 to 2555 of the sequence shown in Figure 5. 8. A sequence according to claim 1, comprising substantially nucleotides 42 to 2555 of the sequence shown in Figure 5. 9. A sequence according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sequence is an antisense functional equivalent. 10. A polypeptide having exo-{ l→4)-/?-D-galactanase activity and comprising substantially the amino acid sequence encoded by nucleotides 229 to 2319 of the sequence shown in Figure 1, or a precursor or derivative of such a polypeptide, or a functional equivalent thereof. 11. A polypeptide according to claim 10, consisting substantially of the amino acid sequence encoded by nucleotides 229 to 2319 of the sequence shown in Figure 1. 12. A polypeptide according to claim 10, comprising substantially the amino acid sequence encoded by nucleotides 117 to 2555 of the sequence shown in Figure 5. 13. A polypeptide according to claim 12, consisting substantially of the amino acid sequence encoded by nucleotides 117 to 2555 of the sequence shown in Figure 5. 14. A polypeptide according to any one of claims 10 to 13, encoded by a nucleotide sequence in accordance with any one of claims 1 to 8. 15. A vector comprising a sequence according to any one of claims 1 to 9. 16. A vector according to claim 15 capable, when introduced into a suitable host, of giving rise to an RNA transcript of a sequence according to any one of claims 1 to 9. 17. A vector according to claim 15 or 16 capable, when introduced into a suitable host, of giving rise to a polypeptide having exo-galactanase activity in accordance with any one of claims 10 to 14. 18. A host cell into which has been introduced a sequence according to any one of claims 1 to 9. 19. A host plant or part thereof, into which has been introduced a sequence according to any one of claims 1 to 9. 20. A plant or part thereof according to claim 19, having altered physical characteristics as a result of the introduction of a sequence according to any one of claims 1 to 9. 21. A method of altering the physical characteristics of a plant or part thereof, comprising introducing into the plant or part thereof a sequence according to any one claims 1 to 9.

Inventors: CHENGAPPA SUMANT, DE SILVA JACQUELINE, HELLYER SUSAN AMANDA, REID JOHN SPENCE GRANT, CHENGAPPA, SUMANT, DE SILVA, JACQUELINE, HELLYER, SUSAN, AMANDA, REID, JOHN, SPENCE, GRANT
Applicants: CHENGAPPA SUMANT, HELLYER SUSAN AMANDA, REID JOHN SPENCE GRANT, SILVA JACQUELINE DE, UNILEVER NV, UNILEVER PLC, CHENGAPPA, SUMANT, DE SILVA, JACQUELINE, HELLYER, SUSAN, AMANDA, REID, JOHN, SPENCE, GRANT, UNILEVER N.V.
Application year: 1995
Main classification: C12N15
IPC codes: C12N9, C12N15