Abstract
The amount of mRNA of the rice catalase gene, CatB, was decreased in the roots of intact seedlings kept in continuous darkness (DD). In contrast, sense and antisense unspliced CatB transcripts accumulated in the same tissue. After shifting the lighting conditions from DD to a light–dark regimen (LD), both the sense and antisense CatB transcripts were hardly detected, and the amount of CatB mRNA was restored. From these results, the antisense CatB transcripts might play a role in suppressing the normal processing of sense CatB transcript and also CatB protein synthesis by dsRNA formation, under conditions unsuitable for plant growth such as DD. This study indicates that signals transmitted from shoots are associated with the accumulation of sense and antisense CatB transcripts in roots under DD conditions, and that auxin is one of the possible signals.
Iwamoto and Higo (2006) Gene 377: 186-194.
