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


     

Plant Physiology Preview
Published on November 21, 2008; 10.1104/pp.108.130518

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:
149/2/653    most recent
pp.108.130518v1
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 Van Der Merwe, M. J.
Right arrow Articles by Fernie, A. R.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Van Der Merwe, M. J.
Right arrow Articles by Fernie, A. R.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Van Der Merwe, M. J.
Right arrow Articles by Fernie, A. R.

Received September 29, 2008
Accepted November 19, 2008

Decreased mitochondrial activities of malate dehydrogenase and fumarase in Solanum lycopersicum lead to altered root growth and architecture via diverse mechanisms

Margaretha J. Van Der Merwe , Sonia Osorio , Thomas Moritz , Adriano Nunes-Nesi , and Alisdair R. Fernie *

Max-Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Am Muhlenberg 1, D-14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany; Umea Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-90183 Umea, Sweden

* Corresponding author; email: fernie{at}mpimp-golm.mpg.de.

Transgenic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants in which either mitochondrial malate dehydrogenase or fumarase were antisense inhibited have previously been characterized to exhibit altered photosynthetic metabolism. Here we demonstrate that these manipulations also resulted in differences in root growth with both transgenics being characterized by a dramatic reduction of root dry matter deposition and respiratory activity but opposite changes with respect to root area. A range of physiological, molecular and biochemical experiments were carried out in order to determine whether changes in root morphology were due to altered metabolism within the root itself, alterations in the nature of the transformants root exudation, consequences of alteration in the efficiency of photoassimilate delivery to the root or a combination of these factors. Grafting experiments in which the transformants were reciprocally grafted to wild type controls suggested that root length and area were determined by the aerial part of the plant but that biomass was not. Despite the transgenic roots displaying alteration in the expression of phytohormone associated genes evaluation of the levels of the hormones themselves revealed that, with the exception of gibberellins, they were largely unaltered. When taken together these combined experiments suggest that root biomass and growth are retarded by root-specific alterations in metabolism and giberrellin contents. These data are discussed in the context of current models of root growth and biomass partitioning.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Plant Physiol.Home page
M. I. Zanor, S. Osorio, A. Nunes-Nesi, F. Carrari, M. Lohse, B. Usadel, C. Kuhn, W. Bleiss, P. Giavalisco, L. Willmitzer, et al.
RNA Interference of LIN5 in Tomato Confirms Its Role in Controlling Brix Content, Uncovers the Influence of Sugars on the Levels of Fruit Hormones, and Demonstrates the Importance of Sucrose Cleavage for Normal Fruit Development and Fertility
Plant Physiology, July 1, 2009; 150(3): 1204 - 1218.
[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