A protocol for Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in rice.

Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of rice is an important method that has been widely adopted by many laboratories. However, because current approaches rely on culture systems, routine protocols have been established only in japonica rice, especially those varieties with higher regeneration potential. Some very efficient methods have been developed for japonica varieties that enable high-throughput functional analysis in rice; however, many elite japonica, and most indica, varieties are difficult to regenerate, leading to low transformation efficiencies.

The rice mutant dwarf bamboo shoot 1: a leaky mutant of the NACK-type kinesin-like gene can initiate organ primordia but not organ development.

That plant dwarfism is caused by hormonal defects related to gibberellin and brassinosteroid has been well documented. Other contributing elements, however, have not been elucidated. Here, we report on one of the most severe dwarf mutants of rice, dwarf bamboo shoot 1 (dbs1).

Analysis of the rice mutant dwarf and gladius leaf 1. Aberrant katanin-mediated microtubule organization causes up-regulation of gibberellin biosynthetic genes independently of gibberellin signaling.

Molecular genetic studies of plant dwarf mutants have indicated that gibberellin (GA) and brassinosteroid (BR) are two major factors that determine plant height; dwarf mutants that are caused by other defects are relatively rare, especially in monocot species. Here, we report a rice (Oryza sativa) dwarf mutant, dwarf and gladius leaf 1 (dgl1), which exhibits only minimal response to GA and BR. In addition to the dwarf phenotype, dgl1 produces leaves with abnormally rounded tip regions.