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In the past decade, significant knowledge has accumulated regarding gibberellin (GA) signal transduction in rice as a result of studies using multiple approaches, particularly molecular genetics. The present review highlights the recent developments in the identification of GA signaling pathway components, the discovery of GA-induced destruction of GA signaling repressor (DELLA protein), and the possible mechanism underlying the regulation of GA-responsive gene expression in rice.

Ubiquitin E2 enzyme variant (UEV) proteins are similar to ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (E2) in both sequence and structure, but the lack of a catalytic cysteine residue renders them incapable of forming a thiol-ester linkage with ubiquitin. While the functional roles of several UEVs have been defined in yeast and animal systems, Arabidopsis COP10, a photomorphogenesis repressor, is the only UEV characterized in plants. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the eight Arabidopsis UEV genes belong to three subfamilies. The expression of those genes is supported by either the presence of ESTs or RT-PCR analysis. We also characterized the other members of the COP10 subfamily, UEV2. Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis indicated that the UEV2 transcripts can be detected in most organs of Arabidopsis. Analysis of UEV2::GUS transgenic lines also showed its ubiquitous expression in nearly all the developmental stages of Arabidopsis. Transient expression analysis indicated that the sGFP-UEV2 fusion protein can localize to both the cytoplasm and nucleus. A T-DNA insertion mutant, uev2-1, which abolished the transcription of UEV2, displays no visible phenotype. Further, the cop10-4 uev2-1 double mutant exhibits the same phenotype as the cop10-4 mutant in darkness. UEV2 is therefore not functionally redundant with COP10.

Histone modifications affect gene expression, but the mechanism and biological consequence of natural variation in histone modifications remain unclear. Here, we generated genome-wide integrated maps of H3K27me3 modification and transcriptome for Col, C24 and their F1 hybrid. A total of 1,828 genomic regions showing variation in H3K27me3 modification between Col and C24 were identified, most of which were associated with genic regions. Natural variation of H3K27me3 modification between parents could result in allelic bias of H3K27me3 in hybrids. Furthermore, we found that H3K27me3 variation between Col and C24 was negatively correlated with gene expression differences between two accessions, especially with those arising from the cis-effect. Importantly, mutation of CLF, an Arabidopsis methyltransferase for H3K27, altered gene expression patterns between the parents. Together, these data provide insights into natural variation of histone modifications and their association with gene expression differences between Arabidopsis ecotypes.

The KNAT1 gene is a member of the Class I KNOX homeobox gene family and is thought to play an important role in meristem development and leaf morphogenesis. Recent studies have demonstrated that KNAT1/BP regulates the architecture of the inflorescence by affecting pedicle development in Arabidopsis thaliana. Herein, we report the characterization of an Arabidopsis T-DNA insertion mutant that shares considerable phenotypic similarity to the previously identified mutant brevipedicle (bp). Molecular and genetic analyses showed that the mutant is allelic to bp and that the T-DNA is located within the first helix of the KNAT1 homeodomain (HD). Although the mutation causes a typical abnormality of short pedicles, propendent siliques, and semidwarfism, no obvious defects are observed in the vegetative stage. A study on cell morphology showed that asymmetrical division and inhibition of cell elongation contribute to the downward-pointing and shorter pedicle phenotype. Loss of KNAT/BP function results in the abnormal development of abscission zones. Microarray analysis of gene expression profiling suggests that KNAT1/BP may regulate abscission zone development through hormone signaling and hormone metabolism in Arabidopsis. (Managing editor: Ping He)

The ubiquitin-proteasome system is a key mechanism that plants use to generate adaptive responses in coping with various environmental stresses. Cullin-RING (CRL) complexes represent a predominant group of ubiquitin E3 ligases in this system. In this review, we focus on the CRL E3s that have been implicated in abiotic stress signaling pathways in Arabidopsis. By comparing and analyzing these cases, we hope to gain a better understanding on how CRL complexes work under various settings in an attempt to decipher the clues about the regulatory mechanism of CRL E3s.

Heterosis, or hybrid vigor, is the phenomenon whereby progeny of two inbred lines exhibit superior agronomic performance compared with either parent. We analyzed the expression of miRNAs and highly expressed small RNAs (defined according to Solexa sequencing results) in two rice (Oryza sativa) subspecies (japonica cv. Nipponbare and indica cv. 93-11) and their reciprocal hybrids using microarrays. We found that of all the 1141 small RNAs tested, 140 (12%, 140 of 1141) and 157 (13%, 157 of 1141) were identified being significantly differentially expressed in two reciprocal hybrids, respectively. All possible modes of action, including additive, high- and low- parent, above high- and below low-parent modes were exhibited. Both F1 hybrids showed non-additive expression patterns, with downregulation predominating. Interestingly, 15 miRNAs displayed stark opposite expression trends relative to mid-parent in reciprocal hybrids. Computational prediction of targets of differentially expressed miRNAs showed that they participated in multifaceted developmental pathways, and were not distinguishable from the targets of non-differentially expressed miRNAs. Together, our findings reveal that small RNAs play roles in heterosis and add a new layer in the understanding and exploitation of molecular mechanisms of heterosis.