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RNA interference‐mediated suppression of xanthine dehydrogenase reveals the role of purine metabolism in drought tolerance in Arabidopsis
Author(s) -
Watanabe Shunsuke,
Nakagawa Ayami,
Izumi Shunsuke,
Shimada Hiroshi,
Sakamoto Atsushi
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/j.febslet.2010.02.023
Subject(s) - xanthine dehydrogenase , arabidopsis , purine , xanthine , acclimatization , arabidopsis thaliana , uric acid , biology , biochemistry , purine metabolism , enzyme , chemistry , mutant , botany , xanthine oxidase , gene
We have previously demonstrated that RNA interference‐mediated suppression of xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH), the rate‐limiting enzyme in purine degradation, causes defects in the normal growth and development of Arabidopsis thaliana . Here, we investigated a possible role for XDH in drought tolerance, since this enzyme is also implicated in plant stress responses and acclimatization. When XDH ‐suppressed lines were subjected to drought stress, plant growth was markedly reduced in conjunction with significantly enhanced cell death and H 2 O 2 accumulation. This drought‐hypersensitive phenotype was reversed by pretreatment with exogenous uric acid, the catalytic product of XDH. These results suggest that fully functional purine metabolism plays a role in the Arabidopsis drought acclimatization.