Propiconazole is a specific and accessible brassinosteroid (BR) biosynthesis inhibitor for Arabidopsis and maize.

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are steroidal hormones that play pivotal roles during plant development. In addition to the characterization of BR deficient mutants, specific BR biosynthesis inhibitors played an essential role in the elucidation of BR function in plants. However, high costs and limited avail...

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Main Authors: Thomas Hartwig, Claudia Corvalan, Norman B Best, Joshua S Budka, Jia-Ying Zhu, Sunghwa Choe, Burkhard Schulz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2012-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3348881?pdf=render
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author Thomas Hartwig
Claudia Corvalan
Norman B Best
Joshua S Budka
Jia-Ying Zhu
Sunghwa Choe
Burkhard Schulz
author_facet Thomas Hartwig
Claudia Corvalan
Norman B Best
Joshua S Budka
Jia-Ying Zhu
Sunghwa Choe
Burkhard Schulz
author_sort Thomas Hartwig
collection DOAJ
description Brassinosteroids (BRs) are steroidal hormones that play pivotal roles during plant development. In addition to the characterization of BR deficient mutants, specific BR biosynthesis inhibitors played an essential role in the elucidation of BR function in plants. However, high costs and limited availability of common BR biosynthetic inhibitors constrain their key advantage as a species-independent tool to investigate BR function. We studied propiconazole (Pcz) as an alternative to the BR inhibitor brassinazole (Brz). Arabidopsis seedlings treated with Pcz phenocopied BR biosynthetic mutants. The steady state mRNA levels of BR, but not gibberellic acid (GA), regulated genes increased proportional to the concentrations of Pcz. Moreover, root inhibition and Pcz-induced expression of BR biosynthetic genes were rescued by 24epi-brassinolide, but not by GA(3) co-applications. Maize seedlings treated with Pcz showed impaired mesocotyl, coleoptile, and true leaf elongation. Interestingly, the genetic background strongly impacted the tissue specific sensitivity towards Pcz. Based on these findings we conclude that Pcz is a potent and specific inhibitor of BR biosynthesis and an alternative to Brz. The reduced cost and increased availability of Pcz, compared to Brz, opens new possibilities to study BR function in larger crop species.
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spelling doaj.art-54382e85c6d746ca965f5771ec39b0a52022-12-21T19:44:20ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032012-01-0175e3662510.1371/journal.pone.0036625Propiconazole is a specific and accessible brassinosteroid (BR) biosynthesis inhibitor for Arabidopsis and maize.Thomas HartwigClaudia CorvalanNorman B BestJoshua S BudkaJia-Ying ZhuSunghwa ChoeBurkhard SchulzBrassinosteroids (BRs) are steroidal hormones that play pivotal roles during plant development. In addition to the characterization of BR deficient mutants, specific BR biosynthesis inhibitors played an essential role in the elucidation of BR function in plants. However, high costs and limited availability of common BR biosynthetic inhibitors constrain their key advantage as a species-independent tool to investigate BR function. We studied propiconazole (Pcz) as an alternative to the BR inhibitor brassinazole (Brz). Arabidopsis seedlings treated with Pcz phenocopied BR biosynthetic mutants. The steady state mRNA levels of BR, but not gibberellic acid (GA), regulated genes increased proportional to the concentrations of Pcz. Moreover, root inhibition and Pcz-induced expression of BR biosynthetic genes were rescued by 24epi-brassinolide, but not by GA(3) co-applications. Maize seedlings treated with Pcz showed impaired mesocotyl, coleoptile, and true leaf elongation. Interestingly, the genetic background strongly impacted the tissue specific sensitivity towards Pcz. Based on these findings we conclude that Pcz is a potent and specific inhibitor of BR biosynthesis and an alternative to Brz. The reduced cost and increased availability of Pcz, compared to Brz, opens new possibilities to study BR function in larger crop species.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3348881?pdf=render
spellingShingle Thomas Hartwig
Claudia Corvalan
Norman B Best
Joshua S Budka
Jia-Ying Zhu
Sunghwa Choe
Burkhard Schulz
Propiconazole is a specific and accessible brassinosteroid (BR) biosynthesis inhibitor for Arabidopsis and maize.
PLoS ONE
title Propiconazole is a specific and accessible brassinosteroid (BR) biosynthesis inhibitor for Arabidopsis and maize.
title_full Propiconazole is a specific and accessible brassinosteroid (BR) biosynthesis inhibitor for Arabidopsis and maize.
title_fullStr Propiconazole is a specific and accessible brassinosteroid (BR) biosynthesis inhibitor for Arabidopsis and maize.
title_full_unstemmed Propiconazole is a specific and accessible brassinosteroid (BR) biosynthesis inhibitor for Arabidopsis and maize.
title_short Propiconazole is a specific and accessible brassinosteroid (BR) biosynthesis inhibitor for Arabidopsis and maize.
title_sort propiconazole is a specific and accessible brassinosteroid br biosynthesis inhibitor for arabidopsis and maize
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3348881?pdf=render
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