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Regulation of the early GA biosynthesis pathway in pea

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Abstract

The early steps in the gibberellin (GA) biosynthetic pathway are controlled by single copy genes or small gene families. In pea (Pisum sativum L.) there are two ent-kaurenoic acid oxidases, one expressed only in the seeds, while ent-copalyl synthesis and ent-kaurene oxidation appear to be controlled by single copy genes. None of these genes appear to show feedback regulation and the only major developmental regulation appears to be during seed development. During shoot maturation, transcript levels do not change markedly with the result that all the three genes examined are expressed in mature tissue, supporting recent findings that these tissues can synthesise GAs. It therefore appears that the regulation of bioactive GA levels are determined by the enzymes encoded by the 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase gene families controlling the later steps in GA biosynthesis. However the early steps are nonetheless important as a clear log/linear relationship exists between elongation and the level of GA1 in a range of single and double mutants in genes controlling these steps.

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Abbreviations

GA:

Gibberellin

CPS:

ent-copalyl diphosphate synthase

KS:

ent-kaurene synthase

KO:

ent-kaurene oxidase

KAO:

ent-kaurenoic acid oxidase

GA20ox:

GA 20-oxidase

GA3ox:

GA 3-oxidase

GA2ox:

GA 2-oxidase

Ps :

Pisum sativum

Cm :

Cucurbita maxima

At :

Arabidopsis thaliana

Os :

Oryza sativa

WT:

Wild-type

EtBr:

Ethidium bromide

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Acknowledgements

We wish to thank Jenny Smith, Tracey Winterbottom, Ian Cummings, Andrew Poole, Martin Jack, and Dr Noel Davies for technical support and Professor Lew Mander (Australian National University, Canberra) for labelled GA standards. This work was supported by the Australian Research Council with a grant to JBR and postgraduate scholarships to SED and SMS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Plant Science, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 55, Hobart, TAS, 7001, Australia

    Sandra E. Davidson & James B. Reid

  2. CSIRO Plant Industry, Merbein, VIC, 3505, Australia

    Stephen M. Swain

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  1. Sandra E. Davidson
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  2. Stephen M. Swain
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  3. James B. Reid
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Correspondence to James B. Reid.

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Davidson, S.E., Swain, S.M. & Reid, J.B. Regulation of the early GA biosynthesis pathway in pea. Planta 222, 1010–1019 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-005-0045-7

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