Mildew locus o (MLO) is a plant-specific

gene family A gene family is a set of several similar genes, formed by duplication of a single original gene, and generally with similar biochemical functions. One such family are the genes for human hemoglobin subunits; the ten genes are in two clusters on ...

. Specific members of the Mildew Locus O gene family act as powdery mildew susceptibility factors. Their inactivation, as the result of a loss-of-function mutation, gene knock-out, or knock-down, is associated with a peculiar form of resistance, referred to as ''mlo'' resistance. The ''mlo'' gene family is widely conserved across the plant kingdom with some members evolving as early as the first land plants. Mlo proteins contain seven highly conserved

transmembrane domains A transmembrane domain (TMD) is a membrane-spanning protein domain. TMDs generally adopt an alpha helix topological conformation, although some TMDs such as those in porins can adopt a different conformation. Because the interior of the lipid b ...

, as well as a

calmodulin-binding domain In molecular biology, calmodulin binding domain (CaMBD) is a protein domain found in small-conductance calcium-activated potassium channels (SK channels). These channels are independent of voltage and gated solely by intracellular Ca2+. They are he ...

. ''

TaMLO Mildew locus o (MLO) is a plant-specific gene family. Specific members of the Mildew Locus O gene family act as powdery mildew susceptibility factors. Their inactivation, as the result of a loss-of-function mutation, gene knock-out, or knock-down, ...

'' genes are the MLOs in ''

Triticum aestivum Common wheat (''Triticum aestivum''), also known as bread wheat, is a cultivated wheat species. About 95% of wheat produced worldwide is common wheat; it is the most widely grown of all crops and the cereal with the highest monetary yield. Ta ...

''.

MLO genes in tomatoes

At least 17 MLO genes exist in

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es. They have a

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...

length of between 270 and 591

amino acids Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha am ...

References

{{gene-stub Plant genes