Skip to main content
NCBI home page
Plant Physiology logoLink to Plant Physiology
. 1976 Dec;58(6):777–782. doi: 10.1104/pp.58.6.777

Comparison of Three Phytochrome-mediated Processes in the Hypocotyl of Mustard

Alan M Kinnersley a, Peter J Davies a
PMCID: PMC542307  PMID: 16659765

Abstract

Anthocyanin synthesis, hair formation, and the synthesis of ascorbic acid oxidase are all phytochrome-mediated reactions occurring in the hypocotyl of mustard (Sinapis alba L.), controlled by phytochrome actually located in the hypocotyl. A comparison of these three reactions showed that in certain respects they differ greatly in their response to light. The ability of the seedling to respond to light by showing the three responses was strongly influenced by the state of development of the seedling. White light given very early after seed imbibition was unable to evoke any of the three reactions. By 50 hours after imbibition, all systems were fully inducible by light. The addition of actinomycin D to a fully competent seedling coincident with illumination strongly inhibited the development of all three responses. In contrast, the addition of cordycepin at this time inhibited the synthesis of anthocyanin and ascorbic acid oxidase but had no effect on hair formation. Cycloheximide inhibited all three responses when given up to several hours after light. This suggests the necessity for RNA and protein synthesis for light-induced expression of these reactions, and that the RNA species involved in the three reactions may have differing degrees of polyadenylation. The lag period between the onset of light and the first display of the response was 3 hours for anthocyanin and ascorbic acid oxidase synthesis, and about 5 hours for hair formation. Amounts of light sufficient to give large increases in the levels of ascorbic acid oxidase and hair formation gave a much smaller increase in anthocyanin synthesis. Hair formation and ascorbic acid oxidase synthesis showed a much greater sensitivity to induction at early stages of seedling development than did anthocyanin synthesis. Following an inductive light period, anthocyanin synthesis was sensitive to far red light inhibition for a period twice as long as the other two reactions. The differences in the response of the three reactions to light suggest that the phytochrome-mediated reactions which control their development also differ.

Full text

PDF
777

Images in this article

781Image
on p.781

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Acton G. J., Schopfer P. Control over activation or synthesis of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase by phytochrome in mustard (Sinapis alba L.)? A contribution to eliminate some misconceptions. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1975 Oct 9;404(2):231–242. doi: 10.1016/0304-4165(75)90329-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Adesnik M., Salditt M., Thomas W., Darnell J. E. Evidence that all messenger RNA molecules (except histone messenger RNA) contain Poly (A) sequences and that the Poly(A) has a nuclear function. J Mol Biol. 1972 Oct 28;71(1):21–30. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(72)90397-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Attridge T. H., Johnson C. B., Smith H. Density-labelling evidence for the phytochrome-mediated activation of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase in mustard cotyledons. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1974 May 24;343(3):440–451. doi: 10.1016/0304-4165(74)90261-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Darnell J. E., Philipson L., Wall R., Adesnik M. Polyadenylic acid sequences: role in conversion of nuclear RNA into messenger RNA. Science. 1971 Oct 29;174(4008):507–510. doi: 10.1126/science.174.4008.507. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Greenberg J. R., Perry R. P. Relative occurrence of polyadenylic acid sequences in messenger and heterogeneous nuclear RNA of L cells as determined by poly (U)-hydroxylapatite chromatography. J Mol Biol. 1972 Dec 14;72(1):91–98. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(72)90070-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Groner B., Hynes N., Phillips S. Length heterogeneity in the poly (adenylic acid) region of yeast messenger ribonucleic acid. Biochemistry. 1974 Dec 17;13(26):5378–5383. doi: 10.1021/bi00723a020. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Hyodo H., Yang S. F. Ethylene-enhanced Synthesis of Phenylalanine Ammonia-Lyase in Pea Seedlings. Plant Physiol. 1971 Jun;47(6):765–770. doi: 10.1104/pp.47.6.765. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Key J. L., Silflow C. The occurrence and distribution of poly(a) ribonucleic Acid in soybean. Plant Physiol. 1975 Sep;56(3):364–369. doi: 10.1104/pp.56.3.364. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Lange H., Shropshire W., Mohr H. An Analysis of Phytochrome-mediated Anthocyanin Synthesis. Plant Physiol. 1971 May;47(5):649–655. doi: 10.1104/pp.47.5.649. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Milcarek C., Price R., Penman S. The metabolism of a poly(A) minus mRNA fraction in HeLa cells. Cell. 1974 Sep;3(1):1–10. doi: 10.1016/0092-8674(74)90030-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Mohr H. Advances in phytochrome research. Photochem Photobiol. 1974 Dec;20(6):539–542. doi: 10.1111/j.1751-1097.1974.tb06618.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Mohr H., Bienger I., Lange H. Primary reaction of phytochrome. Nature. 1971 Mar 5;230(5288):56–58. doi: 10.1038/230056a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Nemer M., Graham M., Dubroff L. M. Co-existence of non-histone messenger RNA species lacking and containing polyadenylic acid in sea urchin embryos. J Mol Biol. 1974 Nov 5;89(3):435–454. doi: 10.1016/0022-2836(74)90474-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Zucker M. Induction of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase in Xanthium leaf disks. Photosynthetic requirement and effect of daylength. Plant Physiol. 1969 Jun;44(6):912–922. doi: 10.1104/pp.44.6.912. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. van Poucke M., Barthe F., Mohr H. Phytochrome-mediated induction of ascorbic acid oxidase in mustard seedlings. Naturwissenschaften. 1969 Aug;56(8):417–417. doi: 10.1007/BF00593628. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Plant Physiology are provided here courtesy of Oxford University Press

RESOURCES