Analysis of the Rac/Rop small GTPase family in rice: expression, subcellular localization and role in disease resistance.

Plant-specific Rac/Rop small GTPases function as molecular switches for numerous signal transduction events, including defense responses. To understand the function of each of the seven Rac/Rop family members in rice, we studied the tissue-specific expression patterns of Rac/Rop genes by semi-quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR), and also Rac/Rop subcellular localization using green fluorescent protein (GFP) fusion proteins in transient expression systems. We also investigated the roles of these genes in disease resistance by testing single Rac/Rop-RNAi (RNA interference) plants against the rice blast pathogen Magnaporthe grisea.