Gene expression and growth analysis of CYP72A enzymes in corn and Arabidopsis

Abstract

In response to various environmental stresses, several plant species have developed an arsenal of defense strategies to combat abiotic stresses. Cytochrome P450s (CYPs) are one of the largest enzyme families that have been seen to play a crucial role in the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, antioxidants, and phytohormones in higher plants. However, the relationship between the biochemical process catalyzed by CYPs and its effect on plant functions was not well established. CYP72A enzymes, a multi-gene subfamily in all flowering plants, consists of closely related sequences between Arabidopsis thaliana, Capsella rubella, and Brassica rapa. CYP72A genes are induced by abiotic and biotic stresses according to the Arabidopsis eFP browser. CYP72A9 and homologs inactivate gibberellins, which are growth promoting hormones. We hypothesize that many CYP72A genes are induced by abiotic stress as a part of the growth/defense tradeoff. Arabidopsis thaliana and Zea mays are the model plants that are the focus of this study. We measured gene expression with reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) and we compared plant growth in mutant and normal (wild-type) plants under stress.