• Molecules and Cells
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.236-242
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• 2008

Invertase (${\beta}$-D-fructofuranosidase; EC 3.2.1.26) catalyzes the conversion of sucrose into glucose and fructose and is involved in an array of important processes, including phloem unloading, carbon partitioning, the response to pathogens, and the control of cell differentiation and development. Its importance may have caused the invertases to evolve into a multigene family whose members are regulated by a variety of different mechanisms, such as pH, sucrose levels, and inhibitor proteins. Although putative invertase inhibitors in the Arabidopsis genome are easy to locate, few studies have been conducted to elucidate their individual functions in vivo in plant growth and development because of their high redundancy. In this study we assessed the functional role of the putative invertase inhibitors in Arabidopsis by generating transgenic plants harboring a putative invertase inhibitor gene under the control of the CaMV35S promoter. A transgenic plant that expressed high levels of the putative invertase inhibitor transcript when grown under normal conditions was chosen for the current study. To our surprise, the stability of the invertase inhibitor transcripts was shown to be down-regulated by the phytohormone ABA (abscisic acid). It is well established that ABA enhances invertase activity in vivo but the underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. Our results thus suggest that one way ABA regulates invertase activity is by down-regulating its inhibitor.

• The Journal of Natural Sciences
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.33-37
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• 1998

Cytokinin is one of major growth regulators in plants. In this study, the gene isopentenyl transferase (jpt) which encodes a key enzyme involved in the biosynthesis of the growth regulator cytokinin isolated from Agrobacterium tumefaciens was introduced ito tobacco plant via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. The jpt gene was modulated using the proteinase inhibitor II (PI-IIK) promotor. In general, this promoterlipt gene fusion resulted in overproduction of cytokinins throughout the transgenic plants. The overproduction of cytokinin caused dramatic changes in morphology of the plant, including stem thickness and reduced root development. The studies reported in this paper were initiated to examine the consequences of overproduction of cytokinin in plant.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.37 no.11
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• pp.795-803
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• 2014

To withstand ever-changing environmental stresses, plants are equipped with phytohormone-mediated stress resistance mechanisms. Salt stress triggers abscisic acid (ABA) signaling, which enhances stress tolerance at the expense of growth. ABA is thought to inhibit the action of growth-promoting hormones, including brassinosteroids (BRs). However, the regulatory mechanisms that coordinate ABA and BR activity remain to be discovered. We noticed that ABA-treated seedlings exhibited small, round leaves and short roots, a phenotype that is characteristic of the BR signaling mutant, brassinosteroid insensitive1-9 (bri1-9). To identify genes that are antagonistically regulated by ABA and BRs, we examined published Arabidopsis microarray data sets. Of the list of genes identified, those upregulated by ABA but downregulated by BRs were enriched with a BRRE motif in their promoter sequences. After validating the microarray data using quantitative RT-PCR, we focused on RD26, which is induced by salt stress. Histochemical analysis of transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing RD26pro:GUS revealed that the induction of GUS expression after NaCl treatment was suppressed by co-treatment with BRs, but enhanced by co-treatment with propiconazole, a BR biosynthetic inhibitor. Similarly, treatment with bikinin, an inhibitor of BIN2 kinase, not only inhibited RD26 expression, but also reduced the survival rate of the plant following exposure to salt stress. Our results suggest that ABA and BRs act antagonistically on their target genes at or after the BIN2 step in BR signaling pathways, and suggest a mechanism by which plants fine-tune their growth, particularly when stress responses and growth compete for resources.

• Journal of Life Science
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.390-396
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• 2015

This study was carried out to investigate the action of phytohormones which influence the adventitious root formation of calli originating from the leaves of Persicaria perfoliata. The optimal medium condition for callus formation was ½-strength MS, 1% sucrose, and 4.5 μM 2,4-D. In order to determine which phytohormones had an effect on the adventitious root formation, the calluses were cultured in various media with different kinds of phytohormones. As a result, the medium with GA₃ or IAA was shown to induce root formation. To deeply investigate the effects of GA₃ and IAA, calli were cultured in 0.1, 1, and 10 mg/l levels of phytohormones. Numbers of roots formed per callus were 10.9, 14.2, 22.6 in GA₃, 5.8, 3.9, 1.1 in IAA, respectively. Therefore, the higher GA₃ or the lower IAA concentration, the more roots formed. To confirm this role of GA₃ we tested with inhibitors PBZ and NPA. GA₃ with PBZ resulted in reduction by 52.4~69.4% compared to GA₃ alone. In contrast, GA₃ with NPA resulted in an increase by -8~45.6% compared to GA₃ alone in root formation. Also, results were determined on the effect of GA₃ with other phytohormones on root formation. Kinetin, 2iP and ABA with GA₃ had a negative effect, but IAA with GA₃ showed a similar result to GA₃ alone. From these results we infer GA plays a key role and auxin has subsidiary activity on adventitious root formation. This is the first report that indicates GA₃ promotes adventitious root formation from calli in P. perfoliata.