Construction of transgenic that exhibits new reddish leaf and flower colors due to introduction of β-carotene ketolase and hydroxylase genes.

, small white morning glory, is an ornamental plant belonging to the family Convolvulaceae, and cultivated worldwide. generates white petals including a pale-yellow colored star-shaped center (flower vein). Its fully opened flowers were known to accumulate trace amounts of carotenoids such as β-carotene.

Reduction in organ-organ friction is critical for corolla elongation in morning glory.

In complex structures such as flowers, organ-organ interactions are critical for morphogenesis. The corolla plays a central role in attracting pollinators: thus, its proper development is important in nature, agriculture, and horticulture. Although the intraorgan mechanism of corolla development has been studied, the importance of organ-organ interactions during development remains unknown.

Anthocyanin mutants of Japanese and common morning glories exhibit normal proanthocyanidin accumulation in seed coats.

Anthocyanin and proanthocyanidin biosynthesis pathways are believed to overlap. This study examined proanthocyanidin accumulation in seed coats of morning glories ( and ) carrying mutations in , , and genes encoding chalcone synthase, chalcone isomerase, and anthocyanidin synthase, respectively. Chemical staining revealed that mutants accumulate proanthocyanidin normally.

An albino mutant of the Japanese rat snake (Elaphe climacophora) carries a nonsense mutation in the tyrosinase gene.

The Japanese rat snake (Elaphe climacophora) is a common species in Japan and is widely distributed across the Japanese islands. An albino mutant of the Japanese rat snake ("pet trade" albino) has been bred and traded by hobbyists for around two decades because of its remarkable light-yellowish coloration with red eyes, attributable to a lack of melanin. Another albino Japanese rat snake mutant found in a natural population of the Japanese rat snake at high frequency in Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture is known as "Iwakuni no Shirohebi".

Facultative parthenogenesis validated by DNA analyses in the green anaconda (Eunectes murinus).

In reptiles, the mode of reproduction is typically sexual. However, facultative parthenogenesis occurs in some Squamata, such as Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis) and Burmese python (Python bivittatus). Here, we report facultative parthenogenesis in the green anaconda (Eunectes murinus).

Genome sequence and analysis of the Japanese morning glory Ipomoea nil.

Ipomoea is the largest genus in the family Convolvulaceae. Ipomoea nil (Japanese morning glory) has been utilized as a model plant to study the genetic basis of floricultural traits, with over 1,500 mutant lines. In the present study, we have utilized second- and third-generation-sequencing platforms, and have reported a draft genome of I.

A chalcone isomerase-like protein enhances flavonoid production and flower pigmentation.

Flavonoids are major pigments in plants, and their biosynthetic pathway is one of the best-studied metabolic pathways. Here we have identified three mutations within a gene that result in pale-colored flowers in the Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil). As the mutations lead to a reduction of the colorless flavonoid compound flavonol as well as of anthocyanins in the flower petal, the identified gene was designated enhancer of flavonoid production (EFP).

Development of EST-SSR markers of Ipomoea nil.

Although Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil (L.) Roth.) has been used intensively for genetic studies, DNA markers have not been developed in Ipomoea nil sufficient to cover all chromosomes.

NBRP databases: databases of biological resources in Japan.

The National BioResource Project (NBRP) is a Japanese project that aims to establish a system for collecting, preserving and providing bioresources for use as experimental materials for life science research. It is promoted by 27 core resource facilities, each concerned with a particular group of organisms, and by one information center. The NBRP database is a product of this project.

The gravity-regulated growth of axillary buds is mediated by a mechanism different from decapitation-induced release.

When the upper part of the main shoot of the Japanese morning glory (Pharbitis nil or Ipomoea nil) is bent down, the axillary bud situated on the uppermost node of the bending region is released from apical dominance and elongates. Here, we demonstrate that this release of axillary buds from apical dominance is gravity regulated. We utilized two agravitropic mutants of morning glory defective in gravisensing cell differentiation, weeping (we) and weeping2 (we2).

The FEATHERED gene is required for polarity establishment in lateral organs especially flowers of the Japanese morning glory (I pomoea nil ).

Most strains harboring the feathered (fe) mutation in the Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil or Pharbitis nil) show deformed phenotypes such as upcurled leaves and separated or tubular petals. These phenotypes seem to be caused by loss of abaxial identity in lateral organs. The FE gene was isolated using the inserted transposon as a tag.

Isolation of cDNAs for R2R3-MYB, bHLH and WDR transcriptional regulators and identification of c and ca mutations conferring white flowers in the Japanese morning glory.

The transcriptional regulators for anthocyanin biosynthesis include members of proteins containing an R2R3-MYB domain, a bHLH (basic helix-loop-helix) domain and conserved WD40 repeats (WDRs). Spacial and temporal expression of the structural genes encoding the enzymes for anthocyanin biosynthesis is thought to be determined by combinations of the R2R3-MYB, bHLH and WDR factors and their interactions. While the wild-type Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil) exhibits blue flowers with colored stems and dark-brown seeds, the c mutants display white flowers with red stems and colored seeds, and the ca mutants exhibit white flowers with green stems and ivory seeds.

Japanese morning glory dusky mutants displaying reddish-brown or purplish-gray flowers are deficient in a novel glycosylation enzyme for anthocyanin biosynthesis, UDP-glucose:anthocyanidin 3-O-glucoside-2''-O-glucosyltransferase, due to 4-bp insertions in the gene.

Bright blue or red flowers in the Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil) contain anthocyanidin 3-O-sophoroside derivatives, whereas the reddish-brown or purplish-gray petals in its dusky mutants accumulate anthocyanidin 3-O-glucoside derivatives. The Dusky gene was found to encode a novel glucosyltransferase, UDP-glucose:anthocyanidin 3-O-glucoside-2''-O-glucosyltransferase (3GGT), which mediates the glucosylation of anthocyanidin 3-O-glucosides to yield anthocyanidin 3-O-sophorosides. Ipomoea nil carries one copy of the 3GGT gene that contains no intron and produces 1.

Characterization of a member of the AN subfamily, IAN, from Ipomoea nil.

ANGUSTIFOLIA (AN) is the first C-terminal binding protein (CtBP) gene from plants and controls leaf width and pattern of trichome branching in Arabidopsis thaliana (L.) Heynh. We characterized an ortholog of AN from Ipomoea nil (L.

A novel microsatellite locus isolated from an AFLP fragment in the mangrove species Kandelia obovata (Rhizophoraceae).

The study of AFLP analysis in Kandelia obovata, one of the major mangrove species in Japan, revealed the existence of a unique fragment showing stuttered peaks. We cloned this fragment and found a novel microsatellite locus. We report the method used for isolation and the polymorphic nature of this locus among the populations on Iriomote Island.

Characterization of Tpn1 family in the Japanese morning glory: En/Spm-related transposable elements capturing host genes.

Some mutant phenotypes are known to be unstable somatically and germinally due to the insertion of transposable elements in the Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil). Several transposable elements that cause mutable phenotypes have recently been isolated. All of these elements show characteristic features of the En/Spm (Enhancer/Suppressor-mutator) or CACTA family.

A dwarf mutant strain of Pharbitis nil, Uzukobito (kobito), has defective brassinosteroid biosynthesis.

Japanese morning glory (Pharbitis nil) is a model plant characterized by a large stock of spontaneous mutants. The recessive mutant Uzukobito shows strong dwarfism with dark-green rugose leaves. The phenotype was rescued by the application of brassinolide, a bioactive brassinosteroid (BR), indicating that Uzukobito was a BR-deficient mutant.

Insertion of an En/Spm-related transposable element into a floral homeotic gene DUPLICATED causes a double flower phenotype in the Japanese morning glory.

Mutations in a floral homeotic gene DUPLICATED (DP) in the Japanese morning glory (Ipomoea nil) cause a substitution of reproductive organs to perianth organs (petals and sepals). This phenotype is similar to loss-of-function phenotypes of the C-function MCM1, AGAMOUS, DEFICIENS and SRF (MADS)-box gene family of transcription factors. DP was isolated using the consensus sequence of C-function MADS-box genes.