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Control of transcription of α-amylase and rRNA genes in barley aleurone protoplasts by gibberellin and abscisic acid

Nature volume 316, pages 275–277 (1985)Cite this article

Abstract

Gibberellin A3 (GA3) promotes and abscisic acid (ABA) inhibits the production of α-amylase in aleurone layers of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.); this sytem has been used extensively to study the mechanisms of action of these hormones1. Cell-free messenger RNA translation studies have shown that the GA3-promoted increase in α-amylase synthesis and its inhibition by ABA are associated with corresponding changes in the levels of translatable α-amylase mRNA2–5. Subsequent studies using hybridization of an α-amylase complementary DNA-rich probe6 and of clonedα-amylase cDNA probe6 to aleurone RNA7–9 have shown that the abundance of α-amylase mRNA increases in response to GA3, and that this increase is inhibited by ABA. The increased abundance of mRNA could result from an increased rate of transcription, increased stability of mRNA, or both, as in some animal cells10–12. By using methods for studying gene transcription in isolated plant nuclei13–15, we present here evidence that GA3 and ABA regulate the transcription of both α-amylase and ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes

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Author notes

  1. L. R. Beach

    Present address: Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc., Plant Breeding Division, Department of Biotechnology Research, 7300 N-W 62 Avenue, Box 38, Johnston, Iowa, 50134, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Plant Industry, CSIRO, PO Box 1600, Canberra, ACT, 2601, Australia

    J. V. Jacobsen & L. R. Beach

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  1. J. V. Jacobsen
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  2. L. R. Beach
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Jacobsen, J., Beach, L. Control of transcription of α-amylase and rRNA genes in barley aleurone protoplasts by gibberellin and abscisic acid. Nature 316, 275–277 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1038/316275a0

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