An improved in vivo deuterium labeling method for measuring the biosynthetic rate of cytokinins.

An improved method for determining the relative biosynthetic rate of isoprenoid cytokinins has been developed. A set of 11 relevant isoprenoid cytokinins, including zeatin isomers, was separated by ultra performance liquid chromatography in less than 6 min. The iP-type cytokinins were observed to give rise to a previously-unknown fragment at m/z 69; we suggest that the diagnostic (204-69) transition can be used to monitor the biosynthetic rate of isopentenyladenine.

Analysis of 2-methylthio-derivatives of isoprenoid cytokinins by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

A sensitive and reliable high-performance liquid chromatographic method with tandem mass spectrometric detection has been developed and used for the determination of 2-methylthio-cytokinin derivatives produced by the phytopathogenic actinomycete Rhodococcus fascians. The cultivation medium containing secreted cytokinins was concentrated and subjected to a solid-phase extraction (C18 and ion-exchange). The purified samples were further separated and analyzed by HPLC-ESI-MS/MS.

Rhodococcus fascians impacts plant development through the dynamic fas-mediated production of a cytokinin mix.

The phytopathogenic actinomycete Rhodococcus fascians D188 relies mainly on the linear plasmid-encoded fas operon for its virulence. The bacteria secrete six cytokinin bases that synergistically redirect the developmental program of the plant to stimulate proliferation of young shoot tissue, thus establishing a leafy gall as a niche. A yeast-based cytokinin bioassay combined with cytokinin profiling of bacterial mutants revealed that the fas operon is essential for the enhanced production of isopentenyladenine, trans-zeatin, cis-zeatin, and the 2-methylthio derivatives of the zeatins.

Characterization of new maize genes putatively involved in cytokinin metabolism and their expression during osmotic stress in relation to cytokinin levels.

Plant hormones, cytokinins (CKs), have been for a long time considered to be involved in plant responses to stress. However, their exact roles in processes linked to stress signalization and acclimatization to adverse environmental conditions are unknown. In this study, expression profiles of the entire gene families of CK biosynthetic and degradation genes in maize (Zea mays) during development and stress responses are described.

Identification of Rhodococcus fascians cytokinins and their modus operandi to reshape the plant.

Decades ago, the importance of cytokinins (CKs) during Rhodococcus fascians pathology had been acknowledged, and an isopentenyltransferase gene had been characterized in the fas operon of the linear virulence plasmid, but hitherto, no specific CK(s) could be associated with virulence. We show that the CK receptors AHK3 and AHK4 of Arabidopsis thaliana are essential for symptom development, and that the CK perception machinery is induced upon infection, underlining its central role in the symptomatology. Three classical CKs [isopentenyladenine, trans-zeatin, and cis-zeatin (cZ)] and their 2-methylthio (2MeS)-derivatives were identified by CK profiling of both the pathogenic R.

Cytokinins are central regulators of cambial activity.

The roots and stems of dicotyledonous plants thicken by the cell proliferation in the cambium. Cambial proliferation changes in response to environmental factors; however, the molecular mechanisms that regulate cambial activity are largely unknown. The quadruple Arabidopsis thaliana mutant atipt1;3;5;7, in which 4 genes encoding cytokinin biosynthetic isopentenyltransferases are disrupted by T-DNA insertion, was unable to form cambium and showed reduced thickening of the root and stem.