A search for sulfur nutrition-related gene by analysis of a mutant of NOB, a transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana that changes its GFP fluorescence in response to sulfur nutrition

Abstract

Expression of the gene encoding Glycine max seed storage protein beta-conglycinin beta subunit increases under sulfur deficiency(ΔS). The transgenic Arabidopsis line NOB carries GFP under control of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S RNA promoter with insertion of the sulfur nutrition responsive region of the beta subunit gene promoter. GFP fluorescence in NOB lines increases under ΔS condition (Ohkama et al. 2002). nbm2-1, one of NOB mutants, showed higher GFP fluorescence when grown under both normal and ΔS conditions. Plant size was small. In this mutant, concentrations of O-acetyl-L-serine, a signal metabolite of ΔS, and GSH, another signal metabolite having the opposite effect of OAS, increased. Cysteine increased, sulfate and nitrate decreased in concentration. Accumulations of mRNAs for Sultr2;2, APR1 and SAT1 gene, the genes known to be upregulated by ΔS condition and related to sulfur metabolism, increased.
Ohkama, N. et al., Plant and Cell Physiology 43(11):1266-1275(2002)