Abstract
Cell death is the most striking event during the hypersensitive responses (HR), that are characterized by recognition of elicitor and transient burst of reactive oxygen species (ROS, e.g., H2O2). To investigate the mechanisms leading to cell death, rice lesion mimic mutants spl (spotted leaf), that cause aberrant regulation of cell death, were analyzed. H2O2 accumulation and degree of cell death were compared between the spl lines and wild type (TC65) using suspension-cultured cells treated with elicitor of rice blast fungus, Magnaporthe grisea. Cell death was enhanced in spl3 but not in spl7 and spl11. However, increased accumulation of H2O2 occurred in spl7 and spl11 but not in spl3. These results suggest that the mutated gene of spl3 is responsible for execution of cell death, and that the genes of spl7 and spl11 are involved in accumulation of H2O2.
