title: A role of Arabidopsis inositol polyphosphate kinase, AtIPK2alpha, in pollen germination and root growth.
abstract: Inositol polyphosphates, such as inositol trisphosphate, are pivotal intracellular signaling molecules in eukaryotic cells. In higher plants the mechanism for the regulation of the type and the level of these signaling molecules is poorly understood. In this study we investigate the physiological function of an Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) gene encoding inositol polyphosphate kinase (AtIPK2alpha), which phosphorylates inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate successively at the D-6 and D-3 positions, and inositol 1,3,4,5-tetrakisphosphate at D-6, resulting in the generation of inositol 1,3,4,5,6-pentakisphosphate. Semiquantitative reverse transcription-PCR and promoter-beta-glucuronidase reporter gene analyses showed that AtIPK2alpha is expressed in various tissues, including roots and root hairs, stem, leaf, pollen grains, pollen tubes, the flower stigma, and siliques. Transgenic Arabidopsis plants expressing the AtIPK2alpha antisense gene under its own promoter were generated. Analysis of several independent transformants exhibiting strong reduction in AtIPK2alpha transcript levels showed that both pollen germination and pollen tube growth were enhanced in the antisense lines compared to wild-type plants, especially in the presence of nonoptimal low Ca(2+) concentrations in the culture medium. Furthermore, root growth and root hair development were also stimulated in the antisense lines, in the presence of elevated external Ca(2+) concentration or upon the addition of EGTA. In addition, seed germination and early seedling growth was stimulated in the antisense lines. These observations suggest a general and important role of AtIPK2alpha, and hence inositol polyphosphate metabolism, in the regulation of plant growth most likely through the regulation of calcium signaling, consistent with the well-known function of inositol trisphosphate in the mobilization of intracellular calcium stores.
authors.affiliation: National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 200032 Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Charles A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Brearley
authors.forename: Wen-Hui
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mueller-Roeber
authors.forename: Zhi-Hong
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Hong-Wei
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Xue
mesh_terms: D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D002118:Calcium; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000201:enzymology; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000201:enzymology; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D015870:Gene Expression; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017853:Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor) / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000254:growth & development; D011058:Pollen / Q000201:enzymology* / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D018076:DNA, Complementary; C500576:IPK2alpha protein, Arabidopsis; D017853:Phosphotransferases (Alcohol Group Acceptor); D002118:Calcium