Plant Physiol. Illumina
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Plant Physiology Preview
Published on May 28, 2008; 10.1104/pp.108.122119

OPEN ACCESS ARTICLE
This Article
Free via Open Access: OA
Right arrow Full Text (Plant Physiology Preview (PDF))
Right arrow Supplemental Data
Right arrowOA All Versions of this Article:
147/3/1334    most recent
pp.108.122119v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Li, F.
Right arrow Articles by Wurtzel, E. T.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Li, F.
Right arrow Articles by Wurtzel, E. T.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Li, F.
Right arrow Articles by Wurtzel, E. T.

Received April 30, 2008
Accepted May 20, 2008

The maize phytoene synthase gene family: overlapping roles for carotenogenesis in endosperm, photomorphogenesis, and thermal stress-tolerance

Faqiang Li , Ratnakar Vallabhaneni , Jane Yu , Torbert Rocheford , and Eleanore T. Wurtzel *

Department of Biological Sciences, Lehman College, The City University of New York, 250 Bedford Park Blvd. West, Bronx, NY 10468; The Graduate School and University Center-CUNY, 365 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10016-4309; Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801

* Corresponding author; email: wurtzel{at}lehman.cuny.edu.

Carotenoids are essential for photosynthesis and photoprotection; they also serve as precursors to signaling molecules that influence plant development and biotic/abiotic stress responses. With potential to improve plant yield and nutritional quality, carotenoids are targets for metabolic breeding/engineering, particularly in the Poaceae (Grass family) which includes the major food crops. Depending on genetic background, maize endosperm carotenoid content varies and therefore breeding enhanced carotenoid levels has been of ongoing interest. The first committed step in the plastid-localized biosynthetic pathway is mediated by the nuclear-encoded phytoene synthase (PSY). The gene family in maize and other Grasses contains three paralogs with specialized roles that are not well understood. Maize endosperm carotenoid accumulation requires PSY1 expression. A maize antibody was used to localize PSY1 to amyloplast envelope membranes and to determine PSY1 accumulation in relation to carotenoid accumulation in developing endosperm. To test when and if PSY transcript levels correlated with carotenoid content, advantage was taken of a maize germplasm diversity collection that exhibits genetic and chemical diversity. Total carotenoid content showed statistically significant correlation with endosperm transcript levels at 20 days after pollination for PSY1, but not PSY2 or PSY3. Timing of PSY1 transcript abundance, previously unknown, provides critical information for choosing breeding alleles or properly controlling introduced transgenes. PSY1 was unexpectedly found to have an additional role in photosynthetic tissue, where it was required for carotenogenesis in the dark and for heat stress tolerance. Leaf carotenogenesis was shown to require phytochrome-dependent and phytochrome independent photoregulation of PSY2 plus nonphotoregulated PSY1 expression.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Plant Physiol.Home page
R. Vallabhaneni, C. E. Gallagher, N. Licciardello, A. J. Cuttriss, R. F. Quinlan, and E. T. Wurtzel
Metabolite Sorting of a Germplasm Collection Reveals the Hydroxylase3 Locus as a New Target for Maize Provitamin A Biofortification
Plant Physiology, November 1, 2009; 151(3): 1635 - 1645.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Crop Sci.Home page
X. He, J. Wang, K. Ammar, R. J. Pena, X. Xia, and Z. He
Allelic Variants at the Psy-A1 and Psy-B1 Loci in Durum Wheat and Their Associations with Grain Yellowness
Crop Sci., October 22, 2009; 49(6): 2058 - 2064.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
O. Ahrazem, A. Rubio-Moraga, R. C. Lopez, and L. Gomez-Gomez
The expression of a chromoplast-specific lycopene beta cyclase gene is involved in the high production of saffron's apocarotenoid precursors
J. Exp. Bot., September 18, 2009; (2009) erp283v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Plant Physiol.Home page
R. Vallabhaneni and E. T. Wurtzel
Timing and Biosynthetic Potential for Carotenoid Accumulation in Genetically Diverse Germplasm of Maize
Plant Physiology, June 1, 2009; 150(2): 562 - 572.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH
ASPB Publications PLANT PHYSIOLOGY® THE PLANT CELL
Copyright © 2008 by the American Society of Plant Biologists