Plant and Cell Physiology Advance Access published online on July 2, 2007
Plant and Cell Physiology, doi:10.1093/pcp/pcm084
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
A Rice Dihydrosphingosine C4 Hydroxylase (DSH1) Gene, which is Abundantly Expressed in the Stigmas, Vascular Cells and Apical Meristem, may be Involved in Fertility
1 Department of Biological Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba 278-8510, Japan
2 Division of Plant Biotechnology, Tissue Engineering Research Center, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba 278-8510, Japan
Corresponding author: Hiroaki Shimada, Department of Biological Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, 2641 Yamazaki, Noda, Chiba 278-8510, Japan E-mail: shimadah{at}rs.noda.tus.ac.jp Fax: +81-04-7125-1841
 |
Abstract |
|---|
Dihydrosphingosine C4 hydroxylase is a key enzyme in the biosynthesis of phytosphingosine, a major constituent of sphingolipids in plants and yeasts. The rice genome contains five homologue genes for dihydrosphingosine C4 hydroxylase, DSH1 to DSH5, whose gene products show high degrees of homology to the yeast counterpart, SUR2. Among them, expression of DSH1, DSH2 and DSH4 was detected, and DSH1 and DSH4 complement the yeast sur2 mutation. The DSH1 gene was specifically and abundantly expressed in vascular bundles and apical meristems. In particular, very strong expression was detected in the stigmas of flowers. Repression of DSH1 expression by the antisense gene or RNAi resulted in a severe reduction of fertility. In the transformants in which DSH1 expression was suppressed, significant increased expression of DSH2 was found in leaves but not in pistils, suggesting that there was tissue-specific correlation between DSH1 and DSH2 expressions. Our results indicate that the product of DSH1 may be involved in plant viability or reproductive processes, and that phenotype of sterility is apparently caused by loss of function of DSH1 in stigma. It is also suggested that there is a complex mechanism controlling the tissue-specific expression of DSH1 gene. (193 words)
Keywords: fertilization - DSH1 overexpressed and repressed transformants - homologue of yeast SUR2 - phytosphingosine - rice (Oryza sativa) - tissue-specific expression
3Present address: Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Institute for Chemical Research, Kyoto University, Gokasho, Uji, Kyoto 611-0011, Japan
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  X. Ye Lysophospholipid signaling in the function and pathology of the reproductive system Hum. Reprod. Update, September 1, 2008; 14(5): 519 - 536. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Chen, J. E. Markham, C. R. Dietrich, J. G. Jaworski, and E. B. Cahoon Sphingolipid Long-Chain Base Hydroxylation Is Important for Growth and Regulation of Sphingolipid Content and Composition in Arabidopsis PLANT CELL, July 1, 2008; 20(7): 1862 - 1878. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 C. Zhang, R. A. Barthelson, G. M. Lambert, and D. W. Galbraith Global Characterization of Cell-Specific Gene Expression through Fluorescence-Activated Sorting of Nuclei Plant Physiology, May 1, 2008; 147(1): 30 - 40. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|