Analysis of rice DWARF14 homologs in the strigolactone pathway in Arabidopsis

Abstract

We have previously shown that strigolactones, a group of carotenoid-derived terpenoids, act as hormones or their biosynthetic precursors that regulate shoot branching by inhibiting axillary bud outgrowth. Studies using rice tillering dwarf mutants sueggested that DWARF14, encoding a member of the α/β-hydrolase superfamily, regulates shoot branching in a step downstream of strigolactone biosynthesis; d14 mutant plants accumulate strigolactone at higher levels than does wild-type plants and their tillering phenotype is not rescued by strigolactone treatment. To explore whether D14-related gene(s) regulates shoot branching in the strigolactone-dependent pathway in other plant species, we are currently studying physiological roles of D14 homologs in Arabidopsis through reverse genetics.