Abstract
The activation state of transcription is thought to be related to a loosening of the nucleosome structure. These changes of nucleosome structure occur through histone modifications such as acetylation, methylation and phosphorylation. It is thought that acetylation/deacetylation of histones leads to activation/repression of transcription. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) catalyzes the deacetylation of histones. In animals and yeast, HDACs function as regulators of gene transcription and gene silencing and they also regulate life span. In this study, we identified several HDAC genes in rice and examined the organ specificity and stress responses of their expressions by RT-PCR. In rice, at least 7 HDAC genes are in class 1, 5 genes are in class 2, 2 genes are in class 3 and 2 genes are in plant-specific HD2-type. The RT-PCR analysis revealed that different HDACs are expressed in different organs and that different HDACs are expressed in response to stress.
