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Cytokinins enhance sugar-induced anthocyanin biosynthesis in Arabidopsis

  • Published:
Molecules and Cells

Abstract

In higher plants, the regulation of anthocyanin synthesis by various factors including light, sugars and hormones is mediated by numerous regulatory factors acting at the transcriptional level. Here, the association between sucrose and the plant hormone, cytokinin, in the presence of light was investigated to elucidate cytokinin signaling cascades leading to the transcriptional activation of anthocyanin biosynthesis genes in Arabidopsis seedlings. We showed that cytokinin enhances anthocyanin content and transcript levels of sugar inducible structural gene UDPglucose: flavonoid 3-O-glucosyl transferase (UF3GT) and regulatory gene PRODUCTION OF ANTHOCYANIN PIGMENT 1 (PAP1). Genetic analysis showed that cytokinin signaling modulates sugar-induced anthocyanin biosynthesis through a two-component signaling cascade involving the type-B response regulators ARR1, ARR10 and ARR12 in a redundant manner. Genetic, physiological and molecular biological approaches demonstrated that cytokinin enhancement is partially dependent on phytochrome and cryptochrome downstream component HY5, but mainly on photosynthetic electron transport. Taken together, we suggest that cytokinin acts down-stream of the photosynthetic electron transport chain in which the plastoquinone redox poise is modulated by sugars in a photoreceptor independent manner.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, College of Biological Science and Biotechnology, Chungnam National University, Daejeon, 305-764, Korea

    Prasanta Kumar Das, Dong Ho Shin & Youn-Il Park

  2. Division of Biosciences and Bioinformatics, Myongji University, Yongin, 449-728, Korea

    Sang-Bong Choi

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 440-764, Korea

    Sang-Dong Yoo

  4. Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, 305-701, Korea

    Giltsu Choi

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  1. Prasanta Kumar Das
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  2. Dong Ho Shin
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  3. Sang-Bong Choi
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  4. Sang-Dong Yoo
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  5. Giltsu Choi
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  6. Youn-Il Park
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Correspondence to Youn-Il Park.

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These authors contributed equally to this work.

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Das, P.K., Shin, D.H., Choi, SB. et al. Cytokinins enhance sugar-induced anthocyanin biosynthesis in Arabidopsis. Mol Cells 34, 93–101 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10059-012-0114-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10059-012-0114-2

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