PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Yamaguchi, Shinjiro
AU  - Smith, Maria W.
AU  - Brown, Robert G. S.
AU  - Kamiya, Yuji
AU  - Sun, Tai-ping
TI  - Phytochrome Regulation and Differential Expression of Gibberellin 3β-Hydroxylase Genes in Germinating Arabidopsis Seeds
AID  - 10.1105/tpc.10.12.2115
DP  - 1998 Dec 01
TA  - The Plant Cell
PG  - 2115--2126
VI  - 10
IP  - 12
4099  - http://www.plantcell.org/content/10/12/2115.short
4100  - http://www.plantcell.org/content/10/12/2115.full
SO  - Plant Cell1998 Dec 01; 10
AB  - Despite extensive studies on the roles of phytochrome in photostimulated seed germination, the mechanisms downstream of the photoreceptor that promote germination are largely unknown. Previous studies have indicated that light-induced germination of Arabidopsis seeds is mediated by the hormone gibberellin (GA). Using RNA gel blot analyses, we studied the regulation of two Arabidopsis genes, GA4 and GA4H (for GA4 homolog), both of which encode GA 3β-hydroxylases that catalyze the final biosynthetic step to produce bioactive GAs. The newly isolated GA4H gene was expressed predominantly during seed germination. We show that expression of both GA4 and GA4H genes in imbibed seeds was induced within 1 hr after a brief red (R) light treatment. In the phytochrome B–deficient phyB-1 mutant, GA4H expression was not induced by R light, but GA4 expression still was, indicating that R light–induced GA4 and GA4H expression is mediated by different phytochromes. In contrast to the GA4 gene, the GA4H gene was not regulated by the feedback inhibition mechanism in germinating seeds. Our data demonstrate that expression of GA 3β-hydroxylase genes is elevated by R light, which may result in an increase in biosynthesis of active GAs to promote seed germination. Furthermore, our results suggest that each GA 3β-hydroxylase gene plays a unique physiological role during light-induced seed germination.