Functional dissection of a rice high-pI alpha-amylase gene promoter

High Temperature-Induced Expression of Rice α-Amylases in Developing Endosperm Produces Chalky Grains

Global warming impairs grain filling in rice and reduces starch accumulation in the endosperm, leading to chalky-appearing grains, which damages their market value. We found previously that high temperature-induced expression of starch-lytic α-amylases during ripening is crucial for grain chalkiness. Because the rice genome carries at least eight functional α-amylase genes, identification of the α-amylase(s) that contribute most strongly to the production of chalky grains could accelerate efficient breeding. To identify α-amylase genes responsible for the production of chalky grains, we characterized the histological expression pattern of eight α-amylase genes and the influences of their overexpression on grain appearance and carbohydrate components through a series of experiments with transgenic rice plants. The promoter activity of most α-amylase genes was elevated to various extents at high temperature. Among them, the expression of Amy1A and Amy3C was induced in the internal, especially basal to dorsal, region of developing endosperm, whereas that of Amy3D was confined near the ventral aleurone. These regions coincided with the site of occurrence of chalkiness, which was in clear contrast to conventionally known expression patterns of the enzyme in the scutellum and aleurone during seed germination. Furthermore, overexpression of α-amylase genes, except for Amy3E, in developing endosperm produced various degrees of chalky grains without heat exposure, whereas that of Amy3E yielded normal translucent grains, as was the case in the vector control, even though Amy3E-overexpressing grains contained enhanced α-amylase activities. The weight of the chalky grains was decreased due to reduced amounts of starch, and microscopic observation of the chalky part of these grains revealed that their endosperm consisted of loosely packed round starch granules that had numerous pits on their surface, confirming the hydrolysis of the starch reserve by α-amylases. Moreover, the chalky grains contained increased amounts of soluble sugars including maltooligosaccharides at the expense of starch. The integrated analyses proposed that expression of Amy1A, Amy3C, and Amy3D at the specific regions of the developing endosperm could generate the chalkiness. This finding provides the fundamental knowledge to narrow down the targets for the development of high temperature-tolerant premium rice.

Interactions of two transcriptional repressors and two transcriptional activators in modulating gibberellin signaling in aleurone cells

Gibberellins (GAs) regulate many aspects of plant development, such as germination, growth, and flowering. The barley (Hordeum vulgare) Amy32b alpha-amylase promoter contains at least five cis-acting elements that govern its GA-induced expression. Our previous studies indicate that a barley WRKY gene, HvWRKY38, and its rice (Oryza sativa) ortholog, OsWRKY71, block GA-induced expression of Amy32b-GUS. In this work, we investigated the functional and physical interactions of HvWRKY38 with another repressor and two activators in barley. HvWRKY38 blocks the inductive activities of SAD (a DOF protein) and HvGAMYB (a R2R3 MYB protein) when either of these proteins is present individually. However, SAD and HvGAMYB together overcome the inhibitory effect of HvWRKY38. Yet, the combination of HvWRKY38 and BPBF (another DOF protein) almost diminishes the synergistic effect of SAD and HvGAMYB transcriptional activators. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays indicate that HvWRKY38 blocks the GA-induced expression of Amy32b by interfering with the binding of HvGAMYB to the cis-acting elements in the alpha-amylase promoter. The physical interaction of HvWRKY38 and BPBF repressors is demonstrated via bimolecular fluorescence complementation assays. These data suggest that the expression of Amy32b is modulated by protein complexes that contain either activators (e.g. HvGAMYB and SAD) or repressors (e.g. HvWRKY38 and BPBF). The relative amounts of the repressor or activator complexes binding to the Amy32b promoter regulate its expression level in barley aleurone cells.

Alpha-amylase production is induced by sulfuric acid in rice aleurone cells

The hydrolytic enzyme alpha-amylase (EC 3.2.1.1) is produced mainly in aleurone cells of germinating cereals, and the phytohormone gibberellin (GA) is essential for its induction. However, in rice (Oryza sativa L.), sulfuric acid (H(2)SO(4)) induces alpha-amylase production in aleurone tissue even in the absence of GA. Here, the pre-treatment of rice aleurone cells with H(2)SO(4) and incubation in water induced alpha-amylase activity, as if the cells had been incubated in GA solution.

Interactions of two abscisic-acid induced WRKY genes in repressing gibberellin signaling in aleurone cells

Gibberellins (GA) promote while abscisic acid (ABA) inhibits seed germination and post-germination growth. To address the cross-talk of GA and ABA signaling, we studied two rice WRKY genes (OsWRKY51 and OsWRKY71) that are ABA-inducible and GA-repressible in embryos and aleurone cells. Over-expression of these two genes in aleurone cells specifically and synergistically represses induction of the ABA-repressible and GA-inducible Amy32b alpha-amylase promoter reporter construct (Amy32b-GUS) by GA or the GA-inducible transcriptional activator, GAMYB. The physical interactions of OsWRKY71 proteins themselves and that of OsWRKY71 and OsWRKY51 are revealed in the nuclei of aleurone cells using bimolecular fluorescence complementation (BiFC) assays. Although OsWRKY51 itself does not bind to the Amy32b promoter in vitro, it interacts with OsWRKY71 and enhances the binding affinity of OsWRKY71 to W boxes in the Amy32b promoter. The binding activity of OsWRKY71 is abolished by deleting the C-terminus containing the WRKY domain or substituting the key amino acids in the WRKY motif and the zinc finger region. However, two of these non-DNA-binding mutants are still able to repress GA induction by enhancing the binding affinity of the wild-type DNA-binding OsWRKY71 repressors. In contrast, the third non-DNA-binding mutant enhances GA induction of Amy32b-GUS, by interfering with the binding of the wild-type OsWRKY71 or the OsWRKY71/OsWRKY51 repressing complex. These data demonstrate the synergistic interaction of ABA-inducible WRKY genes in regulating GAMYB-mediated GA signaling in aleurone cells, thereby establishing a novel mechanism for ABA and GA signaling cross-talk.

A rice WRKY gene encodes a transcriptional repressor of the gibberellin signaling pathway in aleurone cells

The molecular mechanism by which GA regulates plant growth and development has been a subject of active research. Analyses of the rice (Oryza sativa) genomic sequences identified 77 WRKY genes, among which OsWRKY71 is highly expressed in aleurone cells. Transient expression of OsWRKY71 by particle bombardment specifically represses GA-induced Amy32b alpha-amylase promoter but not abscisic acid-induced HVA22 or HVA1 promoter activity in aleurone cells. Moreover, OsWRKY71 blocks the activation of the Amy32b promoter by the GA-inducible transcriptional activator OsGAMYB. Consistent with its role as a transcriptional repressor, OsWRKY71 is localized to nuclei of aleurone cells and binds specifically to functionally defined TGAC-containing W boxes of the Amy32b promoter in vitro. Mutation of the two W boxes prevents the binding of OsWRKY71 to the mutated promoter, and releases the suppression of the OsGAMYB-activated Amy32b expression by OsWRKY71, suggesting that OsWRKY71 blocks GA signaling by functionally interfering with OsGAMYB. Exogenous GA treatment decreases the steady-state mRNA level of OsWRKY71 and destabilizes the GFP:OsWRKY71 fusion protein. These findings suggest that OsWRKY71 encodes a transcriptional repressor of GA signaling in aleurone cells.

Sugar response sequence in the promoter of a rice alpha-amylase gene serves as a transcriptional enhancer

Expression of alpha-amylase genes in both rice suspension cells and germinating embryos is repressed by sugars and the mechanism involves transcriptional regulation. The promoter of a rice alpha-amylase gene alphaAmy3 was analyzed by both loss- and gain-of-function studies and the major sugar response sequence (SRS) was located between 186 and 82 base pairs upstream of the transcription start site. The SRS conferred sugar responsiveness to a minimal promoter in an orientation-independent manner. It also converted a sugar-insensitive rice actin gene promoter into a sugar-sensitive promoter in a dose-dependent manner. Linker-scan mutation studies identified three essential motifs: the GC box, the G box, and the TATCCA element, within the SRS. Sequences containing either the GC box plus G box or the TATCCA element each mediated sugar response, however, they acted synergistically to give a high level glucose starvation-induced expression. Nuclear proteins from rice suspension cells binding to the TATCCA element in a sequence-specific and sugar-dependent manner were identified. The TATCCA element is also an important component of the gibberellin response complex of the alpha-amylase genes in germinating cereal grains, suggesting that the regulation of alpha-amylase gene expression by sugar and hormone signals may share common regulatory machinery.

Members of a new family of DNA-binding proteins bind to a conserved cis-element in the promoters of alpha-Amy2 genes

The promoters of wheat, barley and wild oat alpha-Amy2 genes contain a number of conserved cis-acting elements that bind nuclear protein, we report here the isolation of two cDNAs encoding proteins (ABF1 and ABF2) that bind specifically to one of these elements, Box 2 (ATTGACTTGACCGTCATCGG). The two proteins are unrelated to each other except for a conserved region of 56-58 amino acids that consists of 25 highly conserved amino acids followed by a putative zinc finger motif, C-X4-5-C-X22-23-H-X1-H. ABF1 contains two such conserved regions, whereas ABF2 possesses only one but also contains a potential leucine zipper motif, suggesting that it could form homo- or heterodimers. ABF1 and ABF2 expressed in Escherichia coli bound specifically to Box 2 probes in gel retardation experiments; this binding was abolished by the transition-metal-chelating agent, 1,10-o-phenanthroline and by EDTA. We propose that ABF1 and ABF2 are representatives of two classes of a new family of plant sequence-specific DNA-binding proteins.

A gibberellin-stimulated ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme gene is involved in alpha-amylase gene expression in rice aleurone

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.

Effect of gibberellic acid on photosynthesis and glycollate dehydrogenase in Anacystis nidulans

Gibberellic acid at 10(-4) MXXX was optimal for enhancement of growth, O2 evolution, photosystem II and I and the activity of glycollate dehydrogenase of Anacystis nidulans. A stimulatory effect was observed on photosystem II. Other concentrations of gibberellic acid were inhibitory to O2 evolution and photosystem I. Syntheses of phycocyanin, phycoerythrin and β-carotene were significantly enhanced after 48 h incubation with gibberellic acid at 10(-3) MXXX but the chlorophyll content began to increase 3 h after adding 10(-4) MXXX gibberellic acid.

Functional analysis of linker insertions and point mutations in the alpha-Amy2/54 GA-regulated promoter

Functional analysis of a gibberellin-regulated wheat alpha-amylase promoter, alpha-Amy2/54, has indicated that three regions were essential for expression. By studying the ability of mutant promoters, containing a randomly inserted 22 bp excision linker, to direct expression in oat aleurone protoplasts we have refined the positions and extents of these three cis elements and also demonstrated the presence of two additional elements. By converting the linker insertions to either single base point mutations or deletions using the class IIS restriction endonuclease BsmI we have shown that nucleotides -119 and -109 within the GARE -121GTAACAGAGTCTGG-108 and nucleotide -152 within the proposed element -156GATTGACTTGACC-144 are essential for high level expression from this promoter.