67. Studies on the strigolactone-regulated genes in Arabidopsis

Abstract

Strigolactones (SLs) have been known as germination stimulants of root parasitic plants and hyphal branching factors of symbiotic arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Recent studies suggest that they act as a new plant hormone and regulate shoot blanching, however functions of SLs in other stages of development and the regulation of SL-related gene expressions are mostly unknown in Arabidopsis. Analyses of SL-responsive and MAX2 downstream gene candidates provide a clue to broaden our understanding of SL signaling. We previously identified some SL-responsive genes by using real-time RT-PCR and microarray analyses. We also showed MAX2 plays an important role in the expression of those genes and the feedback regulation of MAX3 and MAX4. In this study, we over-expressed SL-responsive genes in Arabidopsis and analyze those mutants phenotype. We also performed yeast two-hybrid screening to identify the target of F-box protein, MAX2. We isolated some proteins that seem to interact with MAX2 Leu rich repeat.