JOURNAL

Contents

Original Papers

Generation of pink flower varieties from blue Torenia hybrida by redirecting the flavonoid biosynthetic pathway from delphinidin to pelargonidin

Noriko Nakamura, Masako Fukuchi-Mizutani, Yuko Fukui, Kanako Ishiguro, Kenichi Suzuki, Hideyuki Suzuki, Koei Okazaki, Daisuke Shibata, Yoshikazu Tanaka. . . . . . . 375 [PDF]

Transgenic torenia plants with various pink petal tones were obtained from torenia hybrida cv. Summerwave blue or violet cultivars by combining downregulation of endogenous F3’H and F3’5’H genes with expression of rose or pelargonium DFR gene.

Analysis and functional annotation of expressed sequence tags from the diesel tree (Copaifera officinalis)

Sam R. Zwenger, Robert E. Reinsvold, Chhandak Basu. . . . . . . 385 [PDF] [Supplement1] [Supplement2] [Supplement3] [Supplement4]

A small set of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) generated from copaiba (Copaifera officinalis) or ‘diesel tree’ was analyzed. Analysis of copaiba ESTs is a starting point in understanding the physiology of this tropical tree, which is known to produce ‘diesel-like’ fuel.

Stability of variegation in plants propagated by tissue culture of three variegated cultivars of Farfugium japonicum (Asteraceae), a Japanese traditional ornamental plant

Hajime Okuno, Toshinari Godo, Masashi Nakata, Masahiro Mii. . . . . . . 393 [PDF]

There are two types of variegated cultivars, chimera and non-chimera, among the cultivars of Farfugium japonicum. In a chimeric cultivar, shoots regenerated from rhizomes and leaf blades and propagated from shoot tip-derived variegated shoots, segregated into either green or albino shoots. However in non-chimeric cultivars, shoots derived from all explants exhibited the same variegation as the original plant.

Arabidopsis CFD is an ortholog of Chlamydomonas Ccs1 that is required for c-type heme assembly in chloroplasts

Tsuneaki Takami, Yoshichika Kobayashi, Toshiharu Shikanai. . . . . . . 401 [PDF]

The Arabidopsis cfd mutant exhibited low photosystem II activity after exposed to chilling. cfd is defective in the gene similar to the Ccs1 gene required for c-type cytochrome assembly in Chlamydomonas. The cytchrome f level was lower in cfd than in the wild type even at 23°C. We conclude that cfd is orthologus of Chlamydomonas Ccs1.

Application of somatic embryos to rapid and reliable analysis of soybean seed components by RNA interference.mediated gene silencing

Keito Nishizawa, Kyoko Takagi, Masayoshi Teraishi, Akiko Kita, Masao Ishimoto. . . . . . . 409 [PDF]

We subjected soybean somatic embryos to transformation with RNAi constructs which target α’subunit of β-conglycinin. The abundance of β-conglycinin was reduced both in transgenic embryos and seeds. Application of RNAi to somatic embryos is a feasible and rapid option for studies of soybean seed components.

Agrobacterium-mediated genetic transformation of Cattleya with an Odontoglossum ringspot virus replicase gene sequence

Lin Zhang, Dong Poh Chin, Masanobu Fukami, Hiroaki Ichikawa, Ikuo Nakamura, Masahiro Mii. . . . . . . 421 [PDF]

Transgenic plants of Cattleya orchid with a gene coding for Odontoglossum ringspot virus (ORSV) replicase were successfully produced from protocorm-like bodies by Agrobacterium-mediated method. Since transcription of ORSV replicase gene in transgenic lines was confirmed, they are expected to be resistant to ORSV.

Overproduction of artemisinin in tetraploid Artemisia annua L.

Waleerat Banyai, Ratchada Sangthong, Netiya Karaket, Phithak Inthima, Masahiro Mii, Kanyaratt Supaibulwatana. . . . . . . 427 [PDF]

Tetraploid plants were successfully induced in Artemisia annua by treating excised leaves of in vitro plant with 0.1% colchicine. The tetraploid plants showed 1.5 times greater content of artemisinin (3.0 mg/plant), an important antimalarial drug, than diploid plants.

Possible involvement of ploidy in tolerance to boron deficiency in Arabidopsis thaliana

Ichiro Kasajima, Takeshi Yoshizumi, Takanari Ichikawa, Minami Matsui, Toru Fujiwara. . . . . . . 435 [PDF]

We screened activation-tagged lines and FOX lines of diploid Arabidopsis thaliana under various nutrient deficiencies. One of the obtained mutants was tolerant to boron deficiency, and named as LoBT1. LoBT1 was tetraploid. Root elongations of other tetraploid lines were also improved under boron deficiency.

Photoperiod pathway regulates expression of MAF5 and FLC that encode MADS-box transcription factors of the FLC family in Arabidopsis

Sumire Fujiwara, Mayu Nakagawa, Atsushi Oda, Kazuhisa Kato, Tsuyoshi Mizoguchi. . . . . . . 447 [PDF]

The MAF5 gene, one of the FLC family members, showed a diurnal expression pattern in light/dark cycles and mutations in the photoperiod pathway affected the gene expression of MAF5 and FLC. These results highlight the possible roles of MAF5 and FLC in crosstalk between the photoperiod and vernalization/autonomous pathways in Arabidopsis.

Short Communications

Possible involvement of FLC in natural variation of activity to enhance the late flowering phenotype of the clock mutant lhy cca1 under continuous light

Takeomi Tajima, Riichiro Yoshida, Atsushi Oda, Tsuyoshi Mizoguchi. . . . . . . 455 [PDF] [Supplement]

LHY and CCA1 play key roles in circadian clock functions in Arabidopsis. We isolated an enhancer of the late-flowering phenotype of the lhy cca1 in LL based on natural variation. Genetic mapping and our previous results suggested that the gene responsive to the enhancer might be FLC encoding one of major floral repressors in Arabidopsis.

Isolation and characterization of suppressors of the early flowering 3 in Arabidopsis thaliana

Yu Natsui, Rim Nefissi, Kana Miyata, Atsushi Oda, Yoshihiro Hase, Mayu Nakagawa, Tsuyoshi Mizoguchi. . . . . . . 463 [PDF] [Supplement]

ELF3 is a circadian clock protein with a major role in maintaining circadian rhythms in plants. Six suppressors of elf3 were identified and classified at least into four subgroups based on the expression of such floral regulators as GI, CO, FT, SVP, and FLC, and on their flowering times under LL, LD, and SD.

Ca2+-dependent protein kinases and their substrate HsfB2a are differently involved in the heat response signaling pathway in Arabidopsis

Chidananda Nagamangala Kanchiswamy, Atsushi Muroi, Massimo E. Maffei, Hirofumi Yoshioka, Tatsuya Sawasaki, Gen-ichiro Arimura. . . . . . . 469 [PDF]

It was found that Ca2+-dependent protein kinases (CPK3 and CPK13) function as positive regulators of Hsp gene up-regulation involved in heat shock tolerance in Arabidopsis. Those CPKs are likely to contribute to a wide range of central signal transduction responses in plants, whereas their substrate targets are differently involved or function differently.

Gene Note

Metal-binding characteristics of the protein which shows the highest histidine content in the Arabidopsis genome

Masakazu Hara, Daiju Kashima, Tokumasa Horiike, Toru Kuboi. . . . . . . 475 [PDF] [Supplement]

We searched for His-rich peptides in the Arabidopsis database to find novel metal-binding peptides. We found AtHIRP1 showing the highest histidine content (19.7% of total amino acid residues) in the Arabidopsis genome. Metal-binding characteristics of the AtHIRP1 protein were investigated.

Isolation of anthocyanin-related MYB gene, GbMYB2, from Gynura bicolor leaves

Yasuhiro Shimizu, Kazuhiro Maeda, Mika Kato, Koichiro Shimomura. . . . . . . 481 [PDF]

GbMYB2, isolated from Gynura bicolor DC. leaves, was up-regulated in leaves treated with sucrose. In addition, co-expression of GbMYB2 and bHLH-type transcription factor, GbMYC1, activated GbDFR and GbANS promoter in tobacco leaf protoplasts. These results suggest that GbMYB2 might regulate anthocyanin biosynthesis induced by sucrose treatment in G. bicolor leaves.

Technical Note

Ectopic expression of DnaK chaperone from a halotolerant cyanobacterium Aphanothece halophytica induced the bolting without cold treatment in Eustoma grandiflorum

Atsuko Yamamoto Kazuyoshi Fujita, Teruhiro Takabe. . . . . . . 489 [PDF]

DnaK gene from a halotolerant cyanobacterium Aphanothece halophytica was introduced into Eustoma grandiflorum. Although low temperature treatment was required for the bolting of control Eustoma, it was not required for the transformant. The results suggest the involvement of molecular chaperone for the bolting of Eustoma.