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Noninvasive Expressions of ipt in Whole Plants or Roots through pOp/LhG4 Indicate a Role of Plant Aerial Parts and Light in Cytokinin Synthesis and Root Inhibition

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Abstract

To study plant roots in response to ipt gene activation, the transcriptional fusions of ipt-GUS and GUS-ipt were expressed in roots or in whole plants of Arabidopsis under the control of a root-specific promoter TobRT7 or a CaMV35S promoter through the pOp/LhG4 system in noninvasive conditions. The transgenic plants with constitutive expression of ipt-GUS or GUS-ipt showed 15–25-fold or 1–2-fold increased cytokinin levels, respectively. ipt-GUS-expressing Arabidopsis had severe root inhibition, enlarged shoot apical parts, serrated leaves, and no or few sterile flowers, whereas GUS-ipt-expressing Arabidopsis grew faster, flowered early, and had more lateral shoots. However, when ipt-GUS and GUS-ipt were specially expressed in roots under the control of TobRT7, neither cytokinin content in roots or shoots nor phenotypes were altered. In cytokinin-overproducing, ipt-GUS-expressing Arabidopsis, the light and aerial parts of plants played an important role for cytokinin synthesis and root inhibition, and the ipt gene was vigorously expressed at the shoot apical parts. Meanwhile, calli were induced at the shoot apical parts of some cytokinin-overproducing, ipt-GUS-expressing Arabidopsis.

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Abbreviations

ipt :

Isopentenyl transferase gene

GUS :

β-1,3-glucuronidase gene

cZ:

cis-zeatin

cZR:

cis-zeatin riboside

cZRP:

cis-zeatin riboside phosphate

DHZ:

Dihydrozeatin

DH Z7G:

Dihydrozeatin-7-glucoside

DHZR:

Dihydrozeatin riboside

DHZRP:

Dihydrozeatin riboside phosphate

DHZROG:

Dihydrozeatin riboside O-glucoside

DH Z9G:

Dihydrozeatin-9-glucoside

iP:

N 6-Isopentenyladenine

iP7G:

Isopentenyl adenine-7-glucoside

iPR:

Isopentenyl riboside

iPRP:

Isopentenyl riboside phosphate

Z:

Zeatin

Z7G:

Zeatin-7-glucoside

Z9G:

Zeatin-9-glucoside

ZOG:

Zeatin-O-glucoside

ZOX:

Zeatin oxidase

ZR:

Zeatin riboside

ZROG:

Zeatin riboside O-glucoside

ZRP:

Zeatin riboside phosphate

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No 30360008), 973 Pre-Program of China (No 2006CB708204), and National Basic Research Program of China 2007CB108903.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Tropical Crops Biotechnology, Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, 571101, Haikou, China

    Jianchun Guo

  2. Hainan University, 571104, Haikou, China

    Xinwen Hu

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  1. Jianchun Guo
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  2. Xinwen Hu
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Correspondence to Jianchun Guo.

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Guo, J., Hu, X. Noninvasive Expressions of ipt in Whole Plants or Roots through pOp/LhG4 Indicate a Role of Plant Aerial Parts and Light in Cytokinin Synthesis and Root Inhibition. J Plant Growth Regul 27, 251–262 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-008-9052-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00344-008-9052-9

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