Expression and functional analyses of the Arabidopsis QUA1 gene in light signal transduction

Abstract

Plants not only use light as an energy source for photosynthesis, but also have to monitor the light quality and quantity input to execute appropriate physiological and developmental responses, such as cell differentiation, structural and functional changes, as well as the formation of tissues and organs. The process is referred to as photomorphogenesis. Arabidopsis QUA1 (QUASIMODO1), which functions in pectin synthesis, is identified as a member of glycosyltransferases. Previously, the hypocotyl elongation of the qua1-1 mutant was shown to be inhibited under dark conditions. In this study, we used the qua1-1/cry1 and qua1-1/phyB double mutants as the materials to study the function of the QUA1 gene in light signal transduction. The results showed that QUA1 not only participated in hypocotyl elongation under dark conditions, but also in blue light, red light and far red light conditions. In qua1-1 mutant seedlings, both the cell length of hypocotyl and the light-regulated gene expression were affected. Compared with cry1 and phyB mutants, qua1-1/cry1 and qua1-1/phyB double mutants had the shorter hypocotyl. Light-regulated gene expression was also affected in the double mutants. These data indicated that QUA1 might participate in the light signal transduction regulated by CRY1 and PHYB. Hence, the QUA1 gene may play multiple roles in light signal transduction by regulating the cell elongation and light-regulated gene expression.