Abstract
Although rice produces little glycine betaine, it has two betaine aldehyde dehydrogenase (BADH) gene homologs (OsBADH1 and OsBADH2). We found that OsBADH1 catalyzes the oxidation of acetaldehyde efficiently, while the activity of OsBADH2 is extremely low. The accumulation of OsBADH1 mRNA decreases following submergence treatment, but quickly recovers after re-aeration. We confirmed that OsBADH1 localizes in peroxisomes. In the present study, a possible physiological function of OsBADH1 in the oxidation of acetaldehyde produced by catalase in rice plant peroxisomes is discussed.
