Contents
Invited Reviews
Carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases and their apocarotenoid products in plants
Akemi Ohmiya. . . . . . . 351 [PDF]
Apocarotenoids produced by the action of carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs) play various roles in the growth and development of plants. This review focuses on enzymes belonging to the CCD subfamily; their enzymatic activities and the functions of their apocarotenoid products in plants are discussed.
Research tools for functional genomics in melon (Cucumis melo L.): Current status and prospects
Hiroshi Ezura, Nobuko Fukino. . . . . . . 359 [PDF]
Melon (Cucumis melo L.) is an excellent model species for the study of functional genomics in the Cucurbitaceae, because of its unique traits. This review summarizes the current status of research tools for melon functional genomics and discusses future aspects of the study.
Original Papers
Direct isolation of female germ units from ovules of Petunia hybrida by enzymatic treatment without releasing somatic protoplasts from ovular tissue
Ratchada Sangthong, Dong Poh Chin, Mai Hayashi, Kanyaratt Supaibulwatana, Masahiro Mii. . . . . . . 369 [PDF]
Efficient procedure for isolating female germ units from ovules without degrading ovule tissues was established by treating with appropriate enzyme solution in Petunia hybrida.
Gametosomatic hybridization between egg cell protoplast and mesophyll protoplast of Petunia hybrida
Ratchada Sangthong, Dong Poh Chin, Kanyaratt Supaibulwatana, Masahiro Mii. . . . . . . 377 [PDF]
Triploid plants were successfully produced in Petunia hybrida after fusing each one of egg cell protoplast and mesophyll protoplast by electro-fusion method and cultured with nurse cells.
Identification of ENHANCER OF SHOOT REGENERATION 1-upregulated genes during in vitro shoot regeneration
Naoki Matsuo, Hiromi Mase, Miho Makino, Hiro Takahashi, Hiroharu Banno. . . . . . . 385 [PDF]
An Arabidopsis transcritption factor ESR1 is thought to have crucial functions in early shoot regeneration events in tissue culture. In this study, we identified genes that were upregulated by ESR1 overexpression during in vitro shoot regeneration.
A domain containing the ESR motif in ENHANCER OF SHOOT REGENERATION 1 functions as a transactivation domain
Yoshihiro Nomura, Naoki Matsuo, Hiroharu Banno. . . . . . . 395 [PDF]
Arabidopsis transcription factors, ESR1 and ESR2 are thought to regulate in vitro shoot regeneration redundantly. In this study, we demonstrated that the ESR motif, which is a short amino acid sequence commonly seen in the C-terminal domain of ESR1 and ESR2, functions as a transactivation domain.
Gene Notes
Cloning and transcriptional regulation of Sdrac encoding a Rac/Rop small guanosine 5-triphosphatebinding protein gene from Scoparia dulcis
Masato Shite, Yoshimi Yamamura, Fumiya Kurosaki. . . . . . . 403 [PDF]
A Rac/Rop small GTPase gene, Sdrac, was isolated from Scoparia dulcis. Southern blot hybridization experiment revealed that Rac/Rop genes are organized as the multigene family in the genome of the plant, and the transcriptional activity of Sdrac appreciably increased by the stimulation with ethylene and methyl jasmonate as analyzed by RT-PCR.
Analyses of expression and phenotypes of knockout lines for Arabidopsis ABCF subfamily members
Tomohiko Kato, Satoshi Tabata, Shusei Sato. . . . . . . 409 [PDF]
We analyzed expression of five members of the Arabidopsis ABCF subfamily using promoter-GUS fusion constructs, and identified that these members are expressed in various organs of Arabidopsis at different stages. We also isolated knockout lines of four members of the ABCF subfamily, and showed that AtABCF3 is involved in root growth and development.
Technical Notes
A batch processing protocol for construction of expression vector plasmids from a cDNA collection and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of suspension-cultured cells of Arabidopsis
Yuki Naito, Yayoi Tsujimoto-Inui, Toshitsugu Nakano, Hideaki Shinshi, Kaoru Suzuki. . . . . . . 415 [PDF] [Supplement]
In order to develop a simple and easy protocol to generate transgenic cells of Arabidopsis, we demonstrated a batch processing protocol for construction of plant expression vector plasmids and Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of suspension-cultured cells using a Gateway system-compatible cDNA collection of DOF genes.
Visualization of multiple T-DNA loci by FISH on extended DNA fibers
Tadayoshi Imazawa, Go Suzuki, Akiko Nakano, Maki Yamamoto, Yasuhiko Mukai. . . . . . . 421 [PDF]
By using fluorescence in situ hybridization on extended DNA fibers (fiber FISH), multiple integrations of the 37-kb T-DNA were successfully visualized in two transgenic tobacco lines. Combining fiber-FISH and DNA gel blot analyses is an effective procedure to determine an accurate copy number and rearrangement of integrated T-DNAs in the case of transgenic plants having multiple and/or larger T-DNA locus.
Simple and efficient RNA extraction and gene analysis in vegetative organs of Japanese persimmon
Hidetoshi Ikegami, Yoshiko Koshita, Hiroshi Yakushiji, Keita Hirashima, Chiharu Hirata, Takao Nakahara. . . . . . . 427 [PDF]
This examination for simple and efficient RNA extraction methods was conducted in vegetative organs of persimmon, including leaves, which contain inhibitory substances. The selected method is very useful for the genetic analysis of persimmon vegetative organs.
Transgenic Notes
Accumulation of raffinose in rice seedlings overexpressing OsWRKY11 in relation to desiccation tolerance
Xiaolan Wu, Sachie Kishitani, Yukihiro Ito, Kinya Toriyama. . . . . . . 431 [PDF]
We previously reported that transgenic rice seedlings overexpressing OsWRKY11 showed desiccation tolerance. Here we showed accumulation of raffinose and upregulation of genes for raffinose synthesis in the transgenic plants. These results suggest that OsWRKY11 plays a role in accumulation of raffinose for desiccation tolerance.Modification of the surface carbohydrate composition of tobacco protoplasts transformed with the human UDP-galactose transporter gene hUGT1
Takahiro Horibe, Mohamed Farouk Mohamed Khalil, Tetsuya Kawahara, Nobuhiro Ishida, Nobukazu Tanaka. . . . . . . 435 [PDF]
Compared to the control, decreased FITC fluorescence was detected on the surface of human UDP-galactose transporter gene (hUGT1)-expressing BY-2 protoplasts stained by FITC-lectin (ConA and RCA120), suggesting that the surface carbohydrate composition of hUGT1-expressing cells was modified by excessive nucleotide sugar transport into the Golgi apparatus.