Contents
Invited Review
Novel blue light receptors with an F-box: their direct control of the circadian clock and the flowering timing in Arabidopsis
Sumire Fujiwara. . . . . . . 123 [PDF]
ZTL family members (ZTL, FKF1 and LKP2) are unique F-box proteins with a LOV domain. Recently, ZTL and FKF1 were reported to be novel types of blue light receptors which post-translationaly regulate the circadian clock and photoperiodic flowering, respectively. Studies about ZTL family members are summarized and discussed.
Original Papers
Characterization of SBZ1, a soybean bZIP protein that binds to the chalcone synthase gene promoter
Kazuko Yoshida, Sayaka Wakamatsu, Masaaki Sakuta. . . . . . . 131 [PDF] [Supplement]
SBZ1 is a CPRF2-related bZIP protein which binds in vitro to the 5′ region of soybean CHS1, at a sequence that confers the elicitor-inducible expression of CHS genes. In vitro phosophorylation assays indicate that SBZ1 is phosphorylated by protein kinases including CDPK and CKII.
Overexpression of DnaK chaperone from a halotolerant cyanobacterium Aphanothece halophytica increases seed yield in rice and tobacco
Akio Uchida, Takashi Hibino, Takiko Shimada, Fumi Shinagawa, Tetsuko Takabe,Etsuko Araki, Rungaroon Waditee, Hiroshi Kajita, Teruhiro Takabe. . . . . . . 141 [PDF]
Transgenic tobacco plants expressing a molecular chaperone DnaK from a halotolerant cyanobacterium Aphanothece halophytica show enhanced seed yields as well as enhanced tolerances for salt and heat stresses. Transgenic rice plants expressing ApDnaK showed faster growth and higher seed yield under normal growth conditions as well as the enhanced tolerance for high temperature and salt stress. The results suggest a relation of increased folding activity with enhanced stress tolerance, increased seed yield, and total plant biomass.
Stimulation effects of salts on growth in suspension culture of a mangrove plant, Sonneratia alba, compared with another mangrove, Bruguiera sexangula and non-mangrove tobacco BY-2 cells
Yoshifumi Kawana, Hamako Sasamoto. . . . . . . 151 [PDF]
Suspension cells of Sonneratia alba were found to be halophilic and tolerant to salts, i.e. , NaCl, KCl, MgCl2, and CaCl2. Small scale efficient method using a multi-well culture plate was developed for the measurement of growth in suspension culture.
Identification of DNA polymorphisms in Angelica acutiloba
Jun Murata, Hiroyuki Oki, Koji Kakutani, Takashi Hashimoto. . . . . . . 157 [PDF]
Angelica acutiloba var. acutiloba indigenous to the Obuka area of Nara prefecture, Japan, has been evaluated as an excellent Tohki variety. Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA analysis and sequencing selected genomic regions among Angelica plants of different origins were used to identify several nucleotide changes among the Angelica samples tested.
Roles of Arabidopsis PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATOR (PRR) genes in the opposite controls of flowering time and organ elongation under long-day and continuous light conditions
Kanae Niinuma, Norihito Nakamichi, Kana Miyata, Takeshi Mizuno, Hiroshi Kamada, Tsuyoshi Mizoguchi. . . . . . . 165 [PDF]
Loss-of-function of PRR9 ; PRR7 ; PRR5 , which are believed to be clock components, had shorter petioles but longer hypocotyls than those of wild-type plants under continuous light condition. We propose some models to explain the organ-specific effect caused by mutations in Arabidopsis clock genes.
Short Communication
The 5′-end expressed sequence tags of Lotus japonicus
Mika Nomura, Dao Van Tan, Hatthaya Arunothayanan, Erika Asamizu, Satoshi Tabata, Hiroshi Kouchi, Shigeyuki Tajima. . . . . . . 173 [PDF]
To obtain peptide coding information from 5′-ends of clone in a model legume, Lotus japonicus , we generated 7320 5′ EST sequences. We identified numerous of nodule-enhanced genes, suggesting that the EST resources generated in this study will be a useful tool for the identification of genes related to nodulation and symbiotic nitrogen fixation.
Comparative studies on chloroplast DNA in Ogura-type CMS lines derived from a cybrid (Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata) and a chimera (Brassica rapa L. var. peruviridis) and on a distinction of chloroplast DNA by PCR in Brassicaceae
Gen Hattori, Gergely Gulyas, Hoytaek Kim, Yutaka Hirata. . . . . . . 177 [PDF]
In two CMS lines, Sequence of two regions near the rps16 in chloroplast DNA was the same as the sequence in an Ogura-type CMS radish. These results suggest that the two CMS lines possess chloroplast DNA of the Ogura-type or a similar type. Furthermore, the region between rps16 and trnK was compared among species related to Brassica by PCR.
Anatomical and Histochemical Characteristics of Japanese Birch (Tohoku) Plantlets Infected with the Inonotus obliquus IO-U1 Strain
Md. Mahabubur Rahman, Futoshi Ishiguri, Yuya Takashima, Mustafa Abul Kalam Azad, Kazuya Iizuka, Nobuo Yoshizawa, Shinso Yokota. . . . . . . 183 [PDF]
Host-pathogen interactions were investigated on a Japanese birch plantlet after infection with a canker-rot fungus, Inonotus obliquus IO-U1 strain. It was found that phenolics deposition and necrophylactic periderm formation occur as infection-induced responses in birch plantlets infected with I. obliquus IO-U1.
Notes
Gene Note
Characterization of PAP1 -upregulated Glutathione S -transferase genes in Arabidopsis thaliana
Bunyapa Wangwattana, Yoko Koyama, Yasutaka Nishiyama, Masahiko Kitayama, Mami Yamazaki, Kazuki Saito. . . . . . . 191 [PDF]
Three genes encoding glutathione S-transferase-like proteins up-regulated by PAP1 Myb-transcription factor from Arabidopsis thaliana were characterized for their function. TT19 was suggested to be almost exclusively involved in anthocyanin accumulation, supported by the transcriptome co-expression network analysis.
Tissue Culture Note
Novel root culture system using a recessive mutant with a rooty phenotype
Masashi Suzuki, Keiko Kobayashi, Noriko Nagata, Osamu Matsuda, Koh Iba, Shigeo Yoshida, Toshiya Muranaka. . . . . . . 197 [PDF]
Arabidopsis superroot 1 (sur1) grew rapidly into a globe-shaped rooty phenotype and was easily subcultured in liquid medium. Desired characteristics can be maintained via seeds as the rooty phenotype is recessive. The root culture is useful for studying metabolic regulation and the production of compounds in roots.
Transgenic Notes
Cadmium-tolerance of transgenic Ipomoea aquatica expressing serine acetyltransferase and cysteine synthase
Parichart Moontongchoon, Supachitra Chadchawan, Natchanun Leepipatpiboon, Ancharida Akaracharanya, Atsuhiko Shinmyo, Hiroshi Sano. . . . . . . 201 [PDF]
Upon genetic engineering to express two enzymes involved in sulfur assimilation pathway, water spinach, a tropical aquatic plant, acquired tolerant trait against cadmium toxicity. The results suggest that this approach can be useful to remediate contaminated fresh water with heavy metals.
Agrobacterium -mediated genetic transformation of radish (Raphnus sativus L.)
Mi Ae Cho, Sung Ran Min, Jang Ryol Liu, Pil Son Choi. . . . . . . 205 [PDF]
Transgenic radishs (Raphanus sativus L.) were developed from the cultures of hypocotyl explants after co-cultivation with disarmed Agrobacterium tumefaciens harboring a plant expression binary vector. Explants co-cultivated with A. tumefaciens harboring pCAMBIA1301 or pPTN290 produced putative transgenic adventitious shoots, and the gus gene transcript was detected in 8 regenerated plants by Northern blot analysis. Progeny analysis of independent transgenic plants demonstrated that the gus gene was transmitted in a Mendelian pattern in 3 lines.