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Cyclic GMP acts as a common regulator for the transcriptional activation of the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway in soybean

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Abstract

Cyclic GMP (cGMP) is an important signaling molecule that controls a range of cellular functions. So far, however, only a few genes have been found to be regulated by cGMP in higher plants. We investigated the cGMP-responsiveness of several genes encoding flavonoid-biosynthetic enzymes in soybean (Glycine max L.) involved in legume-specific isoflavone, phytoalexin and anthocyanin biosynthesis, such as phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, cinnamate 4-hydroxylase, 4-coumarate:CoA ligase, chalcone synthase, chalcone reductase, chalcone isomerase, 2-hydroxyisoflavanone synthase, 2-hydroxyisoflavanone dehydratase, anthocyanidin synthase, UDP-glucose:isoflavone 7-O-glucosyltransferase, and isoflavone reductase, and found that the majority of these genes were induced by cGMP but not by cAMP. All cGMP-induced genes were also stimulated by sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a nitric oxide (NO) donor, and illumination of cultured cells with white light. The NO-dependent induction of these genes was blocked by 6-anilino-5,8-quinolinedione, an inhibitor of guanylyl cyclase. Moreover, cGMP levels in cultured cells were transiently increased by SNP. Consistent with the increases of these transcripts, the accumulation of anthocyanin in response to cGMP, NO, and white light was observed. The treatment of soybean cotyledons with SNP resulted in a high accumulation of isoflavones such as daidzein and genistein. Loss- and gain-of-function experiments with the promoter of chalcone reductase gene indicated the Unit I-independent activation of gene expression by cGMP. Together, these results suggest that cGMP acts as a second messenger to activate the expression of genes for enzymes involved in the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway in soybean.

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Abbreviations

NO:

Nitric oxide

GC:

Guanylyl cyclase

SNP:

Sodium nitroprusside

CHS:

Chalcone synthase

PAL:

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase

PR:

Pathogenesis-related

LY83583:

6-Anilino-5, 8-quinolinedione

4CL:

4-Coumarate:CoA ligase

IFGT:

UDP-glucose:isoflavone 7-O-glucosyltransferase

CHR:

Chalcone reductase

IFR:

Isoflavone reductase

HIDH:

2-Hydroxyisoflavanone dehydratase

C4H:

Cinnamate 4-hydroxylase

CHI:

Chalcone isomerase

IFS:

2-Hydroxyisoflavanone synthase

ANS:

Anthocyanidin synthase

GUS:

β-Glucuronidase

LUC:

Luciferase

DEANO:

Diethylamine NONOate

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. J.M. Widholm for the gift of soybean SB-P culture, Drs. M. Sasaki and K. Kanazawa for their help with HPLC, Prof. N.-H. Chua, in whose laboratory this work was started, and Dr. C. Bowler for critical reading of the manuscript. This research was supported by Grants-in Aid for Scientific Research (No. 16380071) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Science, Sports, and Technology of Japan, and grants from Fuji Foundation for Protein Research to H.Y.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Biochemistry, Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Kobe University, Rokkodai-cho 1-1, Nada-ku, Kobe, 657-8501, Japan

    Kenji Suita, Takaaki Kiryu, Maki Sawada, Maiko Mitsui, Masataka Nakagawa, Kengo Kanamaru & Hiroshi Yamagata

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  1. Kenji Suita
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  2. Takaaki Kiryu
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  3. Maki Sawada
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  4. Maiko Mitsui
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  5. Masataka Nakagawa
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  6. Kengo Kanamaru
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  7. Hiroshi Yamagata
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hiroshi Yamagata.

Additional information

The nucleotide sequence for the promoter of the soybean chalcone reductase gene has been deposited in the GenBank database under GenBank accession number EU157917.

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Suita, K., Kiryu, T., Sawada, M. et al. Cyclic GMP acts as a common regulator for the transcriptional activation of the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway in soybean. Planta 229, 403–413 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-008-0839-5

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