Phytochrome has fascinated plant scientists since its discovery in 1959-1960 by the Beltsville research group of the United States Department of Agriculture. Studies in the first 20 years had evidenced that phytochrom...Phytochrome has fascinated plant scientists since its discovery in 1959-1960 by the Beltsville research group of the United States Department of Agriculture. Studies in the first 20 years had evidenced that phytochrome acts as an universal regulator in plant life adapting its behavior to the environmental light, and developed widely the physiological understanding of phytochrome action. In the following 20 years, some thirty world_wide major laboratories have published over two hundred papers a year on various aspects of the subject, and they are making steady progress. The authors’ work has also contributed to the following aspects: coaction of phytochrome and phytohormone in photomorphogenesis, phytochrome purification, phytochrome regulation of male fertility, as well as phytochrome A gene analysis and expression in photoperiod sensitive genic male sterile rice. In the recent decade significant advances have been made in studies on phytochrome molecules, genes and signal transduction in phytochrome response. This is largely due to the advances in molecular genetics, where experiments using mutants and transgenic plants, particularly in Arabidopsis, that have led to the significant insights at the molecular level. The topics in this review include:(1) Discovery of phytochrome; (2) Functions of phytochrome; (3) Phytochrome molecules; (4) Phytochrome regulation in gene expression.展开更多
Temperature influences the distribution, range, and phenology of plants. The key transcriptional activators of heat shock response in eukaryotes, the heat shock factors （HSFs）, have undergone large-scale gene amplif...Temperature influences the distribution, range, and phenology of plants. The key transcriptional activators of heat shock response in eukaryotes, the heat shock factors （HSFs）, have undergone large-scale gene amplification in plants. While HSFs are central in heat stress responses, their role in the response to ambient temperature changes is less well understood. We show here that the warm ambient temperature transcriptome is dependent upon the HSFA1 clade ofArabidopsis HSFs, which cause a rapid and dynamic eviction of H2A.Z nucleosomes at target genes. A transcriptional cascade results in the activation of multiple downstream stress-responsive transcription factors, triggering large-scale changes to the transcriptome in response to elevated temperature. H2A.Z nucleosomes are enriched at temperature-responsive genes at non-inducible temperature, and thus likely confer inducibility of gene expression and higher responsive dynamics. We propose that the antagonistic effects of H2A.Z and HSF1 provide a mechanism to activate gene expression rapidly and precisely in response to temperature, while preventing leaky transcription in the absence of an activation signal.展开更多
The receptor for activated C-kinase 1 （RACK1） is a highly conserved scaffold protein with versatile functions, and plays important roles in the regulation of plant growth and development. Transgenic rice plants, in ...The receptor for activated C-kinase 1 （RACK1） is a highly conserved scaffold protein with versatile functions, and plays important roles in the regulation of plant growth and development. Transgenic rice plants, in which the expression of RACK1 gene was inhibited by RNA interference （RNAi）, were studied to elucidate the possible functions of RACK1 in responses to drought stress in rice. Real-time PCR analysis showed that the expression of RACK1 in transgenic rice plants was inhibited by more than 50%. The tolerance to drought stress of the transgenic rice plants was higher as compared with the non-transgenic rice plants. The peroxidation of membrane and the production of malondialdehyde were significantly lower and the superoxide dismutase activity in transgenic rice plants was significantly higher than those in non-trangenic rice plants It is suggested that RACK1 negatively regulated the redox system-related tolerance to drought stress of rice plants.展开更多
文摘Phytochrome has fascinated plant scientists since its discovery in 1959-1960 by the Beltsville research group of the United States Department of Agriculture. Studies in the first 20 years had evidenced that phytochrome acts as an universal regulator in plant life adapting its behavior to the environmental light, and developed widely the physiological understanding of phytochrome action. In the following 20 years, some thirty world_wide major laboratories have published over two hundred papers a year on various aspects of the subject, and they are making steady progress. The authors’ work has also contributed to the following aspects: coaction of phytochrome and phytohormone in photomorphogenesis, phytochrome purification, phytochrome regulation of male fertility, as well as phytochrome A gene analysis and expression in photoperiod sensitive genic male sterile rice. In the recent decade significant advances have been made in studies on phytochrome molecules, genes and signal transduction in phytochrome response. This is largely due to the advances in molecular genetics, where experiments using mutants and transgenic plants, particularly in Arabidopsis, that have led to the significant insights at the molecular level. The topics in this review include:(1) Discovery of phytochrome; (2) Functions of phytochrome; (3) Phytochrome molecules; (4) Phytochrome regulation in gene expression.
文摘Temperature influences the distribution, range, and phenology of plants. The key transcriptional activators of heat shock response in eukaryotes, the heat shock factors （HSFs）, have undergone large-scale gene amplification in plants. While HSFs are central in heat stress responses, their role in the response to ambient temperature changes is less well understood. We show here that the warm ambient temperature transcriptome is dependent upon the HSFA1 clade ofArabidopsis HSFs, which cause a rapid and dynamic eviction of H2A.Z nucleosomes at target genes. A transcriptional cascade results in the activation of multiple downstream stress-responsive transcription factors, triggering large-scale changes to the transcriptome in response to elevated temperature. H2A.Z nucleosomes are enriched at temperature-responsive genes at non-inducible temperature, and thus likely confer inducibility of gene expression and higher responsive dynamics. We propose that the antagonistic effects of H2A.Z and HSF1 provide a mechanism to activate gene expression rapidly and precisely in response to temperature, while preventing leaky transcription in the absence of an activation signal.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30571120)the National High Technology Research and Development Program of China (Grant No.2008AA10Z120)the Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education, China
文摘The receptor for activated C-kinase 1 （RACK1） is a highly conserved scaffold protein with versatile functions, and plays important roles in the regulation of plant growth and development. Transgenic rice plants, in which the expression of RACK1 gene was inhibited by RNA interference （RNAi）, were studied to elucidate the possible functions of RACK1 in responses to drought stress in rice. Real-time PCR analysis showed that the expression of RACK1 in transgenic rice plants was inhibited by more than 50%. The tolerance to drought stress of the transgenic rice plants was higher as compared with the non-transgenic rice plants. The peroxidation of membrane and the production of malondialdehyde were significantly lower and the superoxide dismutase activity in transgenic rice plants was significantly higher than those in non-trangenic rice plants It is suggested that RACK1 negatively regulated the redox system-related tolerance to drought stress of rice plants.
