biologia plantarum

Biologia plantarum 51:359-362, 2007 | DOI: 10.1007/s10535-007-0073-1

Freezing sensitivity in the gigantea mutant of Arabidopsis is associated with sugar deficiency

S. Q. Cao^1,*, Y. Q. Song¹, L. Su¹

¹ School of Biotechnology and Food Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui, People's Republic of China

The freezing sensitivity in the gi-3 mutant (an allele of the gigantea mutant) was associated with a constitutive reduction in soluble sugar content. Although sugar accumulation was evident in wild-type plants in response to cold treatment, the gi-3 mutant showed a constitutive reduction in soluble sugar content. There were no significant differences in the proline content and the transcript levels of cold-responsive gene RD29A and abscisic acid-responsive gene RAB18 between the wild type and the gi-3 mutant in response to cold treatment. These results suggest that freezing sensitivity in the gi-3 mutant is associated with sugar deficiency.

Keywords: cold acclimation; gene expression; gi-3 mutant; proline content

Subjects: abscisic acid (ABA); cold stress, acclimation, low temperature; mutagenesis, mutants; proline; sugars

Received: July 12, 2005; Accepted: March 30, 2006; Published: June 1, 2007  Show citation