A mutation in the Arabidopsis HYL1 gene encoding a dsRNA binding protein affects responses to abscisic acid, auxin, and cytokinin.
Both physiological and genetic evidence indicate interconnections among plant responses to different hormones. We describe a pleiotropic recessive Arabidopsis transposon insertion mutation, designated hyponastic leaves (hyl1), that alters the plant's responses to several hormones. The mutant is characterized by shorter stature, delayed flowering, leaf hyponasty, reduced fertility, decreased rate of root growth, and an altered root gravitropic response. It also exhibits less sensitivity to auxin and cytokinin and hypersensitivity to abscisic acid (ABA). The auxin transport inhibitor 2,3,5-triiodobenzoic acid normalizes the mutant phenotype somewhat, whereas another auxin transport inhibitor, N-(1-naph-thyl)phthalamic acid, exacerbates the phenotype. The gene, designated HYL1, encodes a 419-amino acid protein that contains two double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) binding motifs, a nuclear localization motif, and a C-terminal repeat structure suggestive of a protein-protein interaction domain. We present evidence that the HYL1 gene is ABA-regulated and encodes a nuclear dsRNA binding protein. We hypothesize that the HYL1 protein is a regulatory protein functioning at the transcriptional or post-transcriptional level.
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Biology Department and Biotechnology Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, USA.
Fedoroff
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D000040:Abscisic Acid / Q000378:metabolism*; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D001483:Base Sequence; D001692:Biological Transport; D003583:Cytokinins / Q000378:metabolism*; D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D003583:Cytokinins; D017931:DNA Primers; D018076:DNA, Complementary; C420966:HYL1 protein, Arabidopsis; D007210:Indoleacetic Acids; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins; D000040:Abscisic Acid