• Title/Summary/Keyword: phytochrome

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Inter-Domain Signal Transmission within the Phytochromes

  • Song, Pill-Soon
    • BMB Reports
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    • v.32 no.3
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    • pp.215-225
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    • 1999
  • Phytochromes (with gene family members phyA, B, C, D, and E) are a wavelength-dependent light sensor or switch for gene regulation that underscore a number of photo responsive developmental and morphogenic processes in plants. Recently, phytochrome-like pigment proteins have also been discovered in prokaryotes, possibly functioning as an auto-phosphorylating/phosphate-relaying two-component signaling system (Yeh et al., 1997). Phytochromes are photochromically convertible between the light sensing Pr and regulatory active Pfr forms. Red light converts Pr to Pfr, the latter having a "switch-on" conformation. The Pfr form triggers signal transduction pathways to the downstream responses including the expression of photosynthetic and other growth-regulating genes. The components involved in and the molecular mechanisms of the light signal transduction pathways are largely unknown, although G-proteins, protein kinases, and secondary messengers such as $Ca^{2+}$ ions and cGMP are implicated. The 124-127 kDa phytochromes form homodimeric structures. The N-terminal half contains the tetrapyrrolic phytochromobilin for red/far-red light absorption. The C-terminal half includes both a dimerization motif and regulatory box where the red light signal perceived by the chromophore-domain is recognized and transduced to initiate the signal transduction cascade. A working model for the inter-domain signal communication within the phytochrome molecule is proposed in this Review.

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Overexpression of N -terminal lacking mutant HFR1 confers light-independence in a subset of photo-responses

  • Yang Ki-Young;Kim Young-Mi;Song Pill-Soon;Soh Moon-Soo
    • Proceedings of the Korean Society of Potoscience Conference
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    • spring
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    • pp.97-103
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    • 2003
  • Phytochrome controls diverse aspects of plant development in response to the ambient light conditions. HFRl, a basic helix-loop-helix protein, is required for a subset of phytochrome A (phy A)-mediated photo-responses in Arabidopsis. Here, we show that overexpression of HFR1-N105, but not the one of the full-length HFR1, confers exaggerated photo-responses. The transgenic plants overexpressing HFR1- N105 exhibited light-independence in a subset of photo-responses, including germination, de-etiolation, gravitropic hypocotyl growth, and blocking of greening. Overexpression of HFR1-N105 also caused constitutive light-responses in the expression of some light-regulated genes. In addition, the HFR1-N105 overexpressor showed hypersensitive responses under R and FR light, dependently on phyB and phyA, respectively. End-of-day far-red light response and petiole elongation were suppressed in the HFR1-N105 overexpressor plants. Together these results imply that overexpression of HFR1-N105 activated a branch of light signaling, supporting the hypothesis that transcriptional regulation in the nucleus would be the primary mechanism of light signaling in Arabidopsis. We discuss the biotechnological potential of the mutant bHLH protein, HFR1-N105 in regard to suppressed shade avoidance syndrome.

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Interaction of brassinosteroids and cytokinin in modulating light mediated signaling in Arabidopsis

  • Hwang, Indeok;Paudyal, Dilli P.;Cheong, Hyeonsook
    • Journal of Integrative Natural Science
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    • v.1 no.1
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    • pp.24-31
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    • 2008
  • Brassinosteroids (BRs) are a special class of plant steroid hormones that are essential for normal growth and development. Part of confusion is whether BRs are unique to plants, because they have overlapping physiological roles with other better-studied hormones and with physiological responses caused by light. In systems designed to assay for cytokinins, the effects of BRs vary. We measured hypocotyl length for testing the ability of brassinolide (BL) to rescue double mutant between det2 and the photoreceptor null mutant phytochrome B (phyB). PHYB involved in controlling hypocotyl elongation in increased concentration of BL whereas phyBdet2 double mutant just partially rescue to phyB in white and red light indicated the involvement of BRs in PHYB regulated cell elongation. BRs regulated hypocotyl growth was delayed by BAP, a cytokinin treatment but inhibitory effects of BAPs on hypocotyl growth was slightly recovered by BL. The result indicated that the mode of action of BR and cytokinin is independent or sequential in the downstream light-regulated response control on hypocotyl elongation and also light modulated the action of BR and cytokinin in some extent.

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In silico analysis of candidate genes involved in light sensing and signal transduction pathways in soybean

  • Quecini, V.;Zucchi, M.I.;Pinheiro, J.B.;Vello, N.A.
    • Plant Biotechnology Reports
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    • v.2 no.1
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    • pp.59-73
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    • 2008
  • Several aspects of photoperception and light signal transduction have been elucidated by studies with model plants. However, the information available for economically important crops, such as Fabaceae species, is scarce. In order to incorporate the existing genomic tools into a strategy to advance soybean research, we have investigated publicly available expressed sequence tag (EST) sequence databases in order to identify Glycine max sequences related to genes involved in light-regulated developmental control in model plants. Approximately 38,000 sequences from open-access databases were investigated, and all bona fide and putative photoreceptor gene families were found in soybean sequence databases. We have identified G. max orthologs for several families of transcriptional regulators and cytoplasmic proteins mediating photoreceptor-induced responses, although some important Arabidopsis phytochrome-signaling components are absent. Moreover, soybean and Arabidopsis genefamily homologs appear to have undergone a distinct expansion process in some cases. We propose a working model of light perception, signal transduction and response-eliciting in G. max, based on the identified key components from Arabidopsis. These results demonstrate the power of comparative genomics between model systems and crop species to elucidate several aspects of plant physiology and metabolism.