Abstract
The phytochromes are the best studied plant photoreceptors, controlling a wide variety of responses at both whole plant and single cell levels. Three signal transduction pathways, dependent on cGMP and/or calcium, have been found to be utilized by phytochrome to control the expression of genes required for chloroplast development (e.g., CAB and FNR) and anthocyanin biosynthesis (e.g., CHS). In particular, cGMP is a second messenger positively regulating CHS gene expression whilst calcium and calmodulin act as negative regulators. In addition to phytochrome regulation of CHS we have begun to examine the signal transduction pathways utilized by UV photoreceptors. In contrast to phytochrome-mediated responses, results indicate a role for calcium and calmodulin as positive regulators of CHS gene expression in UV light.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bowler, C. & Chua, N.-H. 1994. Emerging themes of plant signal transduction. Plant Cell 6: 1529–1541.
Bowler, C., Neuhaus, G., Yamagata, H. & Chua, N.-H. 1994a. Cyclic GMP and calcium mediate phytochrome phototransduction. Cell 77: 73–81.
Bowler, C., Yamagata, H., Neuhaus, G., & Chua, N.-H. 1994b. Phytochrome signal transduction pathways are regulated by reciprocal control mechanisms. Genes & Dev. 8: 2188–2202.
Gilmartin, P.M., Sarokin, L., Memelink, J. & Chua, N.-H. 1990. Molecular light switches for plant genes. Plant Cell 2: 369–378.
Gruissem W. 1989. Chloroplast gene expression: How plants turn their plastids on. Cell 56: 161–170.
Koornneef, M., Van Der Veen, J.H., Spruit, C.J.P. & Karssen, C.M. 1981. The isolation and use of mutants with an altered germination behaviour in Arabidopsis thaliana and tomato. In: Induced Mutations, a Tool for Crop Plant Improvement. (Vienna, International Atomic Energy Agency), 227–232.
Mullet, J.E. 1988. Chloroplast development and gene expression. Annu. Rev. Plant Physiol. Plant Mol. Biol. 39: 475–502.
Neuhaus, G., Bowler, C., Kern, R. & Chua, N.-H. 1993. Calcium/calmodulin-dependent and -independent phytochrome signal transduction pathways”. Cell 73: 937–952.
Quail, P.H., Boylan, M.T., Parks, B.M., Short, T.W., Xu, Y. & Wagner, D. 1995. Phytochromes: photosensory perception and signal transduction. Science 268: 675–680.
Rochaix, J.-D. 1992. Post-transcriptional steps in the expression of chloroplast genes. Annu. Rev. Cell Biol. 8: 1–28.
Sharma, R., López-Juez, E., Nagatani, A., & Furuya, M. 1993. Identification of photo-inactive phytochrome A in etiolated seedlings and photo-active phytochrome B in green leaves of the aurea mutant of tomato. Plant J. 8: 1035–1042.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Bowler, C., Frohnmeyer, H., Schäfer, E. et al. Phytochrome and UV signal transduction pathways. Acta Physiol Plant 19, 475–483 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-997-0044-3
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11738-997-0044-3