Heterotrimeric G protein alpha subunit is involved in rice brassinosteroid response.

Abstract

Heterotrimeric G proteins are known to function as messengers in numerous signal transduction pathways. The null mutation of RGA (rice heterotrimeric G protein alpha subunit), which encodes the alpha subunit of heterotrimeric G protein in rice, causes severe dwarfism and reduced responsiveness to gibberellic acid in rice. However, less is known about heterotrimeric G protein in brassinosteroid (BR) signaling, one of the well-understood phytohormone pathways. In the present study, we used root elongation inhibition assay, lamina inclination assay and coleoptile elongation analysis to demonstrated reduced sensitivity of d1 mutant plants (caused by the null mutation of RGA) to 24-epibrassinolide (24-epiBL), which belongs to brassinosteroids and plays a wide variety of roles in plant growth and development. Moreover, RGA transcript level was decreased in 24-epiBL-treated seedlings in a dose-dependent manner. Our results show that RGA is involved in rice brassinosteroid response, which may be beneficial to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of G protein signaling and provide a novel perspective to understand BR signaling in higher plants.

• Authors: Lei Wang, Yun-Yuan Xu, Qi-Bin Ma, Dan Li, Zhi-Hong Xu, Kang Chong
• Journal: Cell research (Cell Res) Vol. 16 Issue 12 Pg. 916-22 (Dec 2006) ISSN: 1748-7838 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 17117160 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Arabidopsis Proteins
• GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits
• Phytosterols
• Plant Proteins
• Protein Kinases
• BRI1 protein, Oryza sativa
• BRI1 protein, Arabidopsis
• Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases

Topics

• Arabidopsis Proteins (genetics)
• GTP-Binding Protein alpha Subunits (genetics, physiology)
• Oryza (enzymology, genetics, physiology)
• Phytosterols (pharmacology)
• Plant Proteins (genetics, physiology)
• Plant Roots (drug effects, growth & development)
• Protein Kinases (genetics, physiology)
• Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases (genetics)
• Signal Transduction (drug effects, genetics, physiology)