Gibberellin and ethylene cross-talk at the level of transcriptional regulation in Arabidopsis.

This work is part of an existing collaboration between the two laboratories, funded by the EU (EU-RTN-INTEGA). Both parties will share the cost of this microarray experiment. Background: We have demonstrated that ethylene-insensitive mutants and wild type(col-0) Arabidopsis plants treated with an ethylene perception inhibitor have increased levels of expression of genes, such as GASA1 and g-TIP, that are thought to be regulated by GA (Vriezen et al, unpublished results). However, this observation was based on an RNA gel blot analysis and therefore limited to few genes. Aim: To investigate whether plants with decreased ethylene perception are generally hypersensitive to GA or whether this effect is restricted to specific genes. We plan to undertake a complete transcriptome analysis of GA-treated wild type andetr1-1 plants. The aim is to identify genes that are induced directly as a result of the GA treatment, and we will therefore focus on the time window 0-3h. Tissues to be sampled: Plants will be grown in vitroon MS/2 containing 1% sucrose, pH 5.7, at 22 C,70% RH, under white light (54 PAR) and a photoperiod of 16h light/8h dark. Plants will be treated at 14 days and harvested entirely, i.e. roots and shoots are extracted together. Experimental set-up: Col-0 and the ethylene-insensitive mutant etr1-1 will be sprayed with 50 microM GA4 in water. GA4 is the major bio-active GA in Arabidopsis. Samples will be taken after 0, 30 min, 1h, and 3h. In order to correct for touch-induced genes a control, which is sprayed with water only and harvested at 1h, will be included for both genotypes. The total number of chips to be hybridized is 10. The time course with 4 data points is preferred to a single time point with 3 repeats, because it will allow us to follow the induction kinetics and identify early response genes. For each timepoint, RNA will be extracted from at least 40 individuals.

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De Grauwe L, Vriezen WH, Bertrand S, Phillips A, Vidal AM, Hedden P, Van Der Straeten D