Genetic and transcriptome characterization of model zebrafish cell lines.

Compared with the increasing use of zebrafish as a model organism in many laboratories, zebrafish cell lines are still unexploited and limited in application, partly due to their unknown genetic and physiological properties. We characterize two zebrafish embryonic fibroblast cell lines, ZF4 and PAC2. We demonstrate the genetic stability of these two zebrafish cell lines and achieved genetic manipulation by either lipid-mediated transfection or an electroporation- based nucleofection method.

Different subcellular localization and trafficking properties of KNOX class 1 homeodomain proteins from rice.

Genes of the KN1-like homeobox (KNOX) class 1 encode transcription factors involved in shoot apical meristem development and maintenance. We studied the subcellular localization of Green Fluorescent Protein-tagged rice KNOX proteins (Oskn1-3) after particle bombardment of onion and rice cells and after transformation of Arabidopsis and rice with constitutive and inducible expression constructs. In all test systems, the three rice KNOX proteins showed nuclear and cytoplasmic localization patterns.

The RADICLELESS1 gene is required for vascular pattern formation in rice.

The molecular mechanisms through which the complex patterns of plant vascular tissues are established are largely unknown. The highly ordered, yet simple, striate array of veins of rice leaves represents an attractive system to study the dynamics underlying pattern formation. Here we show that mutation in the RADICLELESS1 (RAL1) gene results in distinctive vascular pattern defects.

The procambium specification gene Oshox1 promotes polar auxin transport capacity and reduces its sensitivity toward inhibition.

The auxin-inducible homeobox gene Oshox1 of rice (Oryza sativa) is a positive regulator of procambial cell fate commitment, and its overexpression reduces the sensitivity of polar auxin transport (PAT) to the PAT inhibitor 1-N-naphthylphthalamic acid (NPA). Here, we show that wild-type rice leaves formed under conditions of PAT inhibition display vein hypertrophy, reduced distance between longitudinal veins, and increased distance between transverse veins, providing experimental evidence for a role of PAT in vascular patterning in a monocot species. Furthermore, we show that Oshox1 overexpression confers insensitivity to these PAT inhibitor-induced vascular-patterning defects.

Developmental regulation and downstream effects of the knox class homeobox genes Oskn2 and Oskn3 from rice.

Plant homeobox genes of the class 1 knox (knotted1-like) type are involved in the regulation of shoot apical meristem formation and function. Their expression generally occurs either throughout the meristem or specifically at the lateral organ boundaries. Down-regulation in the organ primordia is tightly controlled and misexpression in leaves leads to a perturbed development.