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T-DNA tagging is a high throughput strategy for identifying and cloning functional genes in plants. In this study, we screened 4416 lab-created T(1) rice T-DNA tagged lines and identified a mutant, designated dh1 (degenerated hull1), with phenotype of degenerated hull and naked pistils and stamens. Approximately 60% florets on the dh1 panicle defected in forming normal palea and lemma. Instead, they formed degenerative velum-like or filamentous organs accompanying with the lack of lodicules, stamens and pistils at different degree. A 361 bp of genomic sequence flanking the T-DNA isolated using TAIL-PCR (Thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR) co-segregated with the mutation phenotype. Results of blastn and gene prediction revealed the T-DNA inserted into the promoter region of a function-predicted gene at 283 bp upstream of its transcription start site (TSS). The predicted gene encoded a LOB (Lateral Organ Boundaries) domain-like protein. RT-PCR analyses indicated the transcription level of target candidate gene, DH1, decreased significantly in dh1 mutant. RNAi aimed at DH1 in wild type plants could partially result in the mutation phenotype of dh1. DH1 could also rescue the mutation phenotype in the complement experiment. The result of transformation by a fused expression vector, pDH1::GFP, revealed that DH1 had the keen spatial and temporal characteristics of expressing at axillary bud, young panicle and floral organs but not at root, leaf, node and culm, and strongly expressing at young tissues but weakly at mature organs. The dh1 presented severer mutation phenotype under relatively longer daylight than under shorter daylight implied that shorter daylight induced the expression of gene(s) redundant to DH1 in function and partially compensated for the loss-of-function. It is the first time to report the LOB-domain gene participating in the development of floral organs in rice.

To understand the molecular mechanism of gibberellin-dependent gene regulation, the effect of three phosphatase inhibitors on the germination of rice seeds and the expression of a target gene, the alpha-amylase gene, Osamy-c, were measured. We found that okadaic acid, microcystin-LR, and calyculin A, which are known to specifically inhibit Ser/Thr phosphatases 1 and 2A, strongly inhibit the expression of the Osamy-c and may be involved in the germination of rice seeds. The protein phosphatase enzyme activity assays showed that there is no obvious effect of GA3 on total PP1/PP2A activities. To further understand the possible role of protein phosphatases 1 and 2A in the GA-dependent expression of Osamy-c, we isolated cDNA clones encoding protein phosphatase 1 and protein phosphatase 2A from a rice aleurone cDNA library. These were designated OsPP1c and OsPP2Ac, respectively. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequences of OsPP1c and OsPP2Ac with the catalytic subunits of PP1 or PP2A of rabbit skeletal muscle, Arabidopsis thaliana, maize and Brassica napus showed that the catalytic subunit sequences of PP1 or PP2A among these organisms are highly conserved (73% to 90% similarity). Genomic Southern blot analysis indicated that there are only one or two copies of OsPP1c genes and more than two copies of OsPP2Ac genes in the rice genome. Northern blot analysis showed that OsPP1c and OsPP2Ac genes are expressed in several organs of rice, including seed, shoot and root. We also showed by using 3' gene-specific probes of OsPP1c and OsPP2Ac cDNA, that the expression of neither gene is regulated by GA. Taken together, our results suggest that protein phosphatases PP1 or PP2A are involved in the GA-dependent expression of the rice Osamy-c gene, though the PP1 or/and PP2A enzymatic activities as well as mRNA levels do not increase upon GA3 treatment.

A ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme (UBC) gene, induced by gibberellin (GA) within an hour, was identified in rice (Oryza sativa) seeds by the mRNA differential display technique. GA inducibility was confirmed by RNA hybridization. A full-length UBC cDNA clone and a genomic clone have been isolated and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequence shares a significant identity with several known UBC sequences, which are probably involved in the pathway responsible for degrading short-lived regulatory proteins. In vivo transient assays using the UBC gene promoter, joined to the luciferase cDNA as the reporter gene, showed that the sequence located between positions 231 and 159 upstream of the transcription start site of this promoter is crucial for GA-dependent activation of the luciferase cDNA. Finally, trans-activation experiments indicated that this UBC gene is involved in gibberellin-stimulated alpha-amylase gene expression.

To study the expression and regulation of a rice glycine-rich cell wall protein gene, Osgrp1, transgenic rice plants were regenerated that contain the Osgrp1 promoter or its 5' deletions fused with the bacterial beta-glucuronidase (GUS) reporter gene. We report here a detailed histochemical analysis of the Osgrp1-Gus expression patterns in transgenic rice plants. In roots of transgenic rice plants, GUS expression was specifically located in cell elongation and differentiation regions, and no GUS expression was detectable in the apical meristem and the mature region. In shoots, GUS activity was expressed only in young leaves or in the growing basal parts of developing leaves, and little GUS activity was expressed in mature leaves or mature parts of developing leaves. In shoot apices, GUS activity was detected only in those leaf cells which were starting to expand and differentiate, and GUS expression was not detected in the apical meristem and the young meristematic leaf primordia. GUS activity was highly expressed in the young stem tissue, particularly in the developing vascular bundles and epidermis. Thus, the expression of the Osgrp1 gene is closely associated with cell elongation/expansion during the post-mitotic cell differentiation process. The Osgrp1-Gus gene was also expressed in response to wounding and down-regulated by water-stress conditions in the elongation region of roots. Promoter deletion analysis indicates that both positive and negative mechanisms are involved in regulating the specific expression patterns. We propose a simple model for the developmental regulation of the Osgrp1 gene expression.

We have isolated and characterized from rice three repetitive DNA sequences, Os48, Osc-567, and OsG3-430. Our results indicate that these repetitive sequences are highly transcribed, and transcripts complementary to both strands of the Os48 family of sequences account for up to 3% of the total cellular RNA. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, restriction mapping, and DNA sequence analyses have revealed a complex pattern of structural organization of the three families of repetitive sequences. Os48 and Osc-567 are organized in long tandem arrays, whereas copies of the OsG3-340 sequence are interspersed with other sequences including arrays of the Os48 and Osc567 families. Interestingly, the three families of repetitive sequences are closely linked not only to each other, but also to telomeric sequences of rice, suggesting that transcription of these repetitive sequences may occur in regions very close to telomeres in rice.

A rice (Oryza sativa L.) cDNA clone coding for the cytoplasmic ribosomal protein L5, which associates with 5 S rRNA for ribosome assembly, was cloned and its nucleotide sequence was determined. The primary structure of rice L5, deduced from the nucleotide sequence, contains 294 amino acids and has intriguing features some of which are also conserved in other eucaryotic homologues. These include: four clusters of basic amino acids, one of which may serve as a nucleolar localization signal; three repeated amino acid sequences; the conservation of glycine residues. This protein was identified as the nuclear-encoded cytoplasmic ribosomal protein L5 of rice by sequence similarity to other eucaryotic ribosomal 5 S RNA-binding proteins of rat, chicken, Xenopus laevis, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Rice L5 shares 51 to 62% amino acid sequence identity with the homologues. A group of ribosomal proteins from archaebacteria including Methanococcus vanniellii L18 and Halobacterium cutirubrum L13, which are known to be associated with 5 S rRNA, also related to rice L5 and the other eucaryotic counterparts, suggesting an evolutionary relationship in these ribosomal 5 S RNA-binding proteins.

To address the question whether common signal(s) and transduction pathways are used to mediate a systemic wound response in monocot and dicot plants, a fusion of the potato proteinase inhibitor II gene (pin2) promoter and the bacterial beta-glucuronidase gene (Gus)-coding region was introduced into rice. In transgenic rice plants, the expression of the pin2-Gus fusion gene displays a systemic wound response, although the expression level is relatively low. Incorporation of the first intron from the rice actin 1 gene (Act1) into the 5'-untranslated region of the pin2-Gus construct results in high-level, systemically wound-inducible expression of the modified construct in transgenic rice plants. Histochemical analysis shows that this high-level, wound-inducible expression is associated with the vascular tissue in both leaves and roots. Furthermore, the expression of the pin2-Act1 intron-Gus fusion gene in transgenic rice plants can be systemically induced by both methyl jasmonate (MJ) and the phytohormone abscisic acid (ABA). These results suggest that the signal(s) mediating the observed systemic wound response and certain steps of the transduction pathways are conserved between dicot and monocot plants. Transient expression assays show that the pin2-Act1 intron-Gus construct is also actively expressed in transformed cells and tissues of several other monocot plants. Thus, the wound-inducible pin2 promoter in combination with the rice Act1 intron 1 might be used as an efficient regulator for foreign gene expression in transgenic monocot plants.

A genomic clone isolated from rice (Oryza sativa var. IR 36) contains a gene that encodes a glycine-rich cell wall protein. This gene is a member of a multi-gene family. Two transcripts with different 5' termini are encoded by this gene and the expression of these two transcripts is differentially regulated. The amino acid sequence derived from the DNA sequence of this gene has a putative amino terminal signal peptide, and a highly repetitive structure in the putative mature protein. A model is proposed which describes the potential monomeric structure of this glycine-rich protein and how these monomers may be covalently linked to produce a network-like structure.

Four rice (Oryza sativa) genomic actin genes have been characterized. The rice actin genes show a conservation of intron number and position that is characteristic of plant actins. Sequence comparisons revealed that the plant actins generally have a high degree of inter- and intraspecific sequence heterogeneity. However, one rice actin gene has a much higher degree of nucleotide sequence identity to a previously isolated actin sequence from Arabidopsis thaliana than to any other plant actin gene. This leads us to suggest that the two sequences may represent functionally homologous genes which arose from an ancient actin gene lineage that was separated by the divergence of the dicot and monocot plants. Genomic DNA blot analysis showed that the rice actin gene family contains at least eight unique members. RNA hybridization analysis revealed that individual rice actin genes can display different patterns of transcript accumulation. The observed differences in sequence and transcript accumulation patterns suggest that the individual rice actin genes may differ in their transcriptional regulation and/or cellular function.

We have isolated and sequenced a full-length cDNA clone containing information for the rice actin gene RAc1. Transcript terminus mapping and sequence alignment between the RAc1 cDNA clone and a previously isolated RAc1 genomic clone were used to determine the structure of the RAc1 gene. This allowed us to make the first complete structural characterization of a plant actin gene. The analysis revealed the presence of a 5'-noncoding exon, separated by an intron, from the first translated exon of the RAc1 gene. This is one of the few reported cases of a plant gene containing such a 5'-noncoding exon. Sequence comparison between the previously isolated plant actin genes suggests that such an exon may be a common feature of plant actin gene structure. The present study also confirms that the rice actin gene family is composed of at least eight unique members.

The development of an efficient transformation system is a prerequisite for the molecular analysis of gene expression in plants. In crop plants, this development has been hindered by difficulties encountered both in whole plant regeneration from protoplasts and in the general insusceptibility of monocots to Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. We have circumvented these difficulties by transferring foreign genes directly into the intact cells (with cell walls) of three important crop plants including rice, wheat and soybean by a particle bombardment device. Oryza sativa and Triticum monococcum cells were bombarded with accelerated tungsten particles coated with plasmids containing a β-glucuronidase gene as the reporter. Blue transformed cells were detected in an in situ enzyme assay. The number of blue cells was next used as a convenient criterion to study several factors affecting gene transfer efficiency. After optimal conditions were defined, gene transfer into intact cells of O. sativa, T. monococcum and Glycine max was successfully carried out with chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene as the reporter.

Anaerobiosis rapidly induces alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), an enzyme of the fermentation pathway, in different parts of rice seedlings. After initiation of anaerobiosis, the activity of the enzyme increases linearly for 3 days or more. The ADH activity is anaerobically inducible even in mature rice leaves in contrast to maize which shows no induction in mature leaves. Rice ADH activity can also be induced by an auxin analog, 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, under aerobic conditions. The experimental results show that anaerobiosis increases the ADH mRNA level, indicating that the ADH enzyme is regulated at the transcriptional level. Starch gel electrophoresis of a protein extract from rice shows 3 distinct forms of ADH. The amounts of the 3 forms vary with the organ, suggesting that the expression of ADH genes is organ-specific. Sequencing data show that the two different cloned cDNA copies of ADH mRNAs are derived from two different genes.