Abstract
We are studying the function of a tobacco peroxidase tpoxN1 whose expression is induced by wounding and TMV-dependent hypersensitive reaction. We have reported that the transcript accumulates within 0.5~1h after wounding and the level was maintained for one week (Sasaki et al. 2002). The tpoxN1 gene responded to wounding most sensitively in vascular systems especially in stems, but weakly in leaf blades without veins. Here we generated transgenic tobacco plants overexpressing the tpoxN1. Transgenic plants seemed to exhibit dwarf phenotype. After cutting of stem, the stem sections were incubated at room temperature, and then the weight was measured at various time periods. Decrease in the weight of stems from transgenic plants by drying was significantly smaller than that from wild-type tobacco plants, indicating the possibility that overexpression of tpoxN1 enhance wound-repairing to recover negative xylem pressure for plant survival.
