Abstract
Phytochrome, activated by continuous red light, increases the amount of total polyadenylated RNA during photomorphogenesis of mustard (Sinapis alba L.) cotyledons. In-vitro translation of total polyadenylated RNA in a reticulocyte translation system has shown that the activity of translatable β-amylase mRNA is increased by phytochrome about threefold in the 3-d-old cotyledons, based on equal amounts of polyadenylated RNA, and about eightfold on a per-cotyledon basis. Cordycepin prevents the accumulation of translatable β-amylase mRNA. It is concluded that the phytochrome-mediated control of β-amylase synthesis is exerted on the level of mRNA synthesis. During seedling development in continuous red light, a phytochrome-dependent increase of β-amylase mRNA can be observed at least 6 h before the onset of β-amylase synthesis. If, after a period of enzyme synthesis, phytochrome action is interrupted by long-wavelength far-red light followed by darkness, β-amylase mRNA as well as β-amylase synthesis remain at a high level for 8–10 h and then decline sharply. It is concluded that β-amylase mRNA, having an apparent lifetime of the order of 8–10 h, can be formed under the influence of phytochrome during early seedling development but it activates β-amylase synthesis only after a lag-phase of about 8 h, when the cotyledons acquire competence to synthesize the enzyme. The consequences of these findings for the signal-transduction chain of phytochrome are discussed.
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Abbreviations
- EDTA:
-
Na2-ethylenediaminotetraacetic acid
- PAGE:
-
polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
- poly(A)+RNA:
-
polyadenylated mRNA
- Pr, Pfr :
-
red- and far-red-absorbing forms of phytochrome
- SDS:
-
sodium dodecyl sulfate
- Tris:
-
2-amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediol
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Sharma, R., Schopfer, P. Phytochrome-mediated regulation of β-amylase mRNA level in mustard (Sinapis alba L.) cotyledons. Planta 171, 313–320 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00398676
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00398676