Characterization of a protein phosphatase type 2C (APC4) in Arabidopsis thaliana by using transgenic plants

Abstract

Protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation play important roles in signal transduction pathways. We have focused on a PP2C in Arabidopsis thaliana that has a similarity with PP2C in yeast (PTC) and human (PPM1G), and named it APC4. It has been reported that PTC and PPM1G are involved in stress-responsive signaling pathways. So far, we have confirmed that APC4 has enzymatic properties of PP2C. In order to clarify its function in vivo, we have screened T-DNA tag lines in A. thaliana and isolated two independent lines. In one of these T-DNA insertion lines, we have not obtained any homozygous plants, and an abnormal segregation ratio in F2 generation of heterozygous plants was observed. We have made some transformants such as APC4-over-expressing plants. We are analyzing the function of APC4 by comparing phenotypes between wild-type plants and these transgenic plants in several conditions.