title: Phytochrome control of levels of mRNA complementary to plastid and nuclear genes of maize.
abstract: The involvement of phytochrome in the control of the levels of RNA transcribed from maize plastid and nuclear genes was examined. The effects of illumination with red light, far-red light, or red light followed by far-red light on relative amounts of RNAs complementary to maize plastid genes for the large subunit of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBPCase); the 32-kilodalton thylakoid membrane triazine herbicide binding B protein of photosystem II; the alpha, beta, and epsilon subunits of CF(1); subunit III (proton-translocating) of CF(0); the reaction center proteins A1 and A2 of photosystem I; two other light-induced genes for membrane proteins of photosystem II (ORFs 353 and 473); and one gene for an unidentified membrane protein (UORF 443) were measured by hybridization of labeled DNA probes to samples of leaf RNA. Transcripts of two nuclear-encoded genes, the genes for the small subunit of RuBPCase and the light-harvesting chlorophyll a/b binding protein, were studied in the same way. The levels of RNA complementary to all of these light-induced genes were significantly increased within 3 to 6 hours after brief illumination with red light. The stimulatory effects of red light were largely reversed by subsequent illumination with far-red light. It is concluded that phytochrome controls increases in the levels of mRNAs complementary to certain plastid and nuclear genes in dark-grown maize seedlings.
authors: Department of Cellular and Developmental Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138.
authors: Y S
authors: YS
authors: Zhu
authors: S D
authors: SD
authors: Kung
authors: L
authors: L
authors: Bogorad