Skip Navigation


Plant and Cell Physiology Advance Access originally published online on June 7, 2008
Plant and Cell Physiology 2008 49(7):1112-1121; doi:10.1093/pcp/pcn089
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
49/7/1112    most recent
pcn089v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Seligman, K.
Right arrow Articles by Salgado, I.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Seligman, K.
Right arrow Articles by Salgado, I.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Seligman, K.
Right arrow Articles by Salgado, I.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Floral Transition and Nitric Oxide Emission During Flower Development in Arabidopsis thaliana is Affected in Nitrate Reductase-Deficient Plants

K. Seligman1, E. E. Saviani1, H. C. Oliveira1, C. A. F. Pinto-Maglio2 and I. Salgado1,*

1 Departamento de Bioquímica, Instituto de Biologia, CP 6109, Universidade Estadual de Campinas-UNICAMP, 13083-970, Campinas, SP, Brasil
2 Laboratório de Citogenética, Centro de Pesquisa e Desenvolvimento de Recursos Genéticos Vegetais, CP 28, Instituto Agronômico de Campinas, 13020-902, Campinas, SP, Brasil

*Corresponding author: E-mail, ionesm{at}unicamp.br; Fax, +55-19-3521-6129.


  Abstract

The nitrate reductase (NR)-defective double mutant of Arabidopsis thaliana (nia1 nia2) has previously been shown to present a low endogenous content of NO in its leaves compared with the wild-type plants. In the present study, we analyzed the effect of NR mutation on floral induction and development of A. thaliana, as NO was recently described as one of the signals involved in the flowering process. The NO fluorescent probes diaminofluorescein-2 diacetate (DAF-2DA) and 1,2-diaminoanthraquinone (1,2-DAA) were used to localize NO production in situ by fluorescence microscopy in the floral structures of A. thaliana during floral development. Data were validated by incubating the intact tissues with DAF-2 and quantifying the DAF-2 triazole by fluorescence spectrometry. The results showed that NO is synthesized in specific cells and tissues in the floral structure and its production increases with floral development until anthesis. In the gynoecium, NO synthesis occurs only in differentiated stigmatic papillae of the floral bud, and, in the stamen, only anthers that are producing pollen grains synthesize NO. Sepals and petals do not show NO production. NR-deficient plants emitted less NO, although they showed the same pattern of NO emission in their floral organs. This mutant blossomed precociously when compared with wild-type plants, as measured by the increased caulinar/rosette leaf number and the decrease in the number of days to bolting and anthesis, and this phenotype seems to result from the markedly reduced NO levels in roots and leaves during vegetative growth. Overall, the results reveal a role for NR in the flowering process.

Keywords: Arabidopsis thaliana - Diaminofluorescein - Floral induction - Flower development - Nitrate reductase (NR) - Nitric oxide (NO)

Abbreviations: cPTIO, 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-imidazole-1-oxyl 3-oxide; 1,2-DAA, 1,2-diaminoanthraquinone; DAPI, 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole; DAF-2DA, diaminofluorescein-2 diacetate; DAF-2T, diaminofluorescein-2 triazole; DMSO, dimethylsulfoxide; MOPS, 3-(N-morpholino) propanesulfonic acid; NO, nitric oxide; NR, nitrate reductase.

(Received May 7, 2008; Accepted June 4, 2008)
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.