This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 14/6/1253    most recent tpc.010491v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Web of Science (33) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Gualberti, G. Articles by Vittorioso, P. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Gualberti, G. Articles by Vittorioso, P. Agricola Articles by Gualberti, G. Articles by Vittorioso, P.

Mutations in the Dof Zinc Finger Genes DAG2 and DAG1 Influence with Opposite Effects the Germination of Arabidopsis Seeds

^a Istituto Pasteur Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Dipartimento di Genetica e Biologia Molecolare, Università La Sapienza, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
^b Genetique et Amelioration des Plantes, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, 78026 Versailles, France

² To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail paolo.costantino{at}uniroma1.it; fax 39-06-4440812

We describe the Arabidopsis gene DAG2 encoding a Dof zinc finger protein and show that it is involved in the control of seed germination. An Arabidopsis mutant line with a T-DNA insertion in DAG2 isolated by reverse genetics produces seeds that are substantially more dependent than the wild type on the physical stimuli—light and cold treatment—that promote germination. Mutant dag2 seeds also are less sensitive to the germination-promotive effect of gibberellins, because a 10-fold higher amount of gibberellins is needed to restore germination when endogenous gibberellin biosynthesis is blocked. The seed germination characteristics of the dag2 mutant are opposite to those of dag1, a knockout mutant of another Dof gene (DAG1) that we showed previously to be involved in the control of seed germination, and are similar to those of plants that overexpress DAG1. The promoter of the DAG2 gene is active specifically in the vascular system of the mother plant but not in the embryo, and segregation analysis indicates that the effect of the dag2 mutation is maternal. Both characteristics are in common with DAG1; additionally, the DAG1 and DAG2 proteins share high sequence homology and an identical zinc finger domain. These data suggest, and the germination phenotype of the double mutant is compatible with, a model whereby the zinc finger proteins DAG1 and DAG2 act on a maternal switch that controls seed germination, possibly by regulating the same gene(s).

This article has been cited by other articles:

				Y. Guo, G. Qin, H. Gu, and L.-J. Qu Dof5.6/HCA2, a Dof Transcription Factor Gene, Regulates Interfascicular Cambium Formation and Vascular Tissue Development in Arabidopsis PLANT CELL, November 1, 2009; 21(11): 3518 - 3534. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Donohue Completing the cycle: maternal effects as the missing link in plant life histories Phil Trans R Soc B, April 27, 2009; 364(1520): 1059 - 1074. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y. Liu, M. Koornneef, and W. J.J. Soppe The Absence of Histone H2B Monoubiquitination in the Arabidopsis hub1 (rdo4) Mutant Reveals a Role for Chromatin Remodeling in Seed Dormancy PLANT CELL, February 1, 2007; 19(2): 433 - 444. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. W. Manfield, P. F. Devlin, C.-H. Jen, D. R. Westhead, and P. M. Gilmartin Conservation, Convergence, and Divergence of Light-Responsive, Circadian-Regulated, and Tissue-Specific Expression Patterns during Evolution of the Arabidopsis GATA Gene Family Plant Physiology, February 1, 2007; 143(2): 941 - 958. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Shigyo, N. Tabei, T. Yoneyama, and S. Yanagisawa Evolutionary Processes During the Formation of the Plant-Specific Dof Transcription Factor Family Plant Cell Physiol., January 1, 2007; 48(1): 179 - 185. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Bentsink, J. Jowett, C. J. Hanhart, and M. Koornneef Cloning of DOG1, a quantitative trait locus controlling seed dormancy in Arabidopsis PNAS, November 7, 2006; 103(45): 17042 - 17047. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				E. Scarpella, E. J. Simons, and A. H. Meijer Multiple Regulatory Elements Contribute to the Vascular-specific Expression of the Rice HD-Zip Gene Oshox1 in Arabidopsis Plant Cell Physiol., August 1, 2005; 46(8): 1400 - 1410. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. M. Ward, C. A. Cufr, M. A. Denzel, and M. M. Neff The Dof Transcription Factor OBP3 Modulates Phytochrome and Cryptochrome Signaling in Arabidopsis PLANT CELL, February 1, 2005; 17(2): 475 - 485. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				G. An, S. Lee, S.-H. Kim, and S.-R. Kim Molecular Genetics Using T-DNA in Rice Plant Cell Physiol., January 15, 2005; 46(1): 14 - 22. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Yanagisawa Dof Domain Proteins: Plant-Specific Transcription Factors Associated with Diverse Phenomena Unique to Plants Plant Cell Physiol., April 15, 2004; 45(4): 386 - 391. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. Rajjou, K. Gallardo, I. Debeaujon, J. Vandekerckhove, C. Job, and D. Job The Effect of {alpha}-Amanitin on the Arabidopsis Seed Proteome Highlights the Distinct Roles of Stored and Neosynthesized mRNAs during Germination Plant Physiology, April 1, 2004; 134(4): 1598 - 1613. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. G. Ayre, J. E. Blair, and R. Turgeon Functional and Phylogenetic Analyses of a Conserved Regulatory Program in the Phloem of Minor Veins Plant Physiology, November 1, 2003; 133(3): 1229 - 1239. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Washio Functional Dissections between GAMYB and Dof Transcription Factors Suggest a Role for Protein-Protein Associations in the Gibberellin-Mediated Expression of the RAmy1A Gene in the Rice Aleurone Plant Physiology, October 1, 2003; 133(2): 850 - 863. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. B. Downie, D. Zhang, L. M.A. Dirk, R. R. Thacker, J. A. Pfeiffer, J. L. Drake, A. A. Levy, D. A. Butterfield, J. W. Buxton, and J. C. Snyder Communication between the Maternal Testa and the Embryo and/or Endosperm Affect Testa Attributes in Tomato Plant Physiology, September 1, 2003; 133(1): 145 - 160. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Alonso-Blanco, L. Bentsink, C. J. Hanhart, H. Blankestijn-de Vries, and M. Koornneef Analysis of Natural Allelic Variation at Seed Dormancy Loci of Arabidopsis thaliana Genetics, June 1, 2003; 164(2): 711 - 729. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Mena, F. J. Cejudo, I. Isabel-Lamoneda, and P. Carbonero A Role for the DOF Transcription Factor BPBF in the Regulation of Gibberellin-Responsive Genes in Barley Aleurone Plant Physiology, September 1, 2002; 130(1): 111 - 119. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]