Inactivation of the Phloem-Specific Dof Zinc Finger Gene DAG1 Affects Response to Light and Integrity of the Testa of Arabidopsis Seeds

We show here that seeds from the knockout mutant of the Arabidopsis DAG1 gene encoding a Dof zinc finger transcription factor have an altered response to red and far-red light. Mutant dag1 seeds are induced to germinate by much lower red light fluence rates, and germination reaches more quickly a point where it is independent of phytochrome signaling. Moreover, although microscopic analysis reveals no obvious structural alterations in the seed coat (testa) of dag1 seeds, staining assays with different dyes point to an abnormal fragility of the testa. By extensive in situ mRNA hybridization analysis we show here that the gene, which is not expressed in the embryo, is specifically expressed in the phloem of all organs of the mother plant

A network of rice genes associated with stress response and seed development

We used a systematic approach to build a network of genes associated with developmental and stress responses in rice by identifying interaction domains for 200 proteins from stressed and developing tissues, by measuring the associated gene expression changes in different tissues exposed to a variety of environmental, biological, and chemical stress treatments, and by localizing the cognate genes to regions of stress-tolerance trait genetic loci. The integrated data set suggests that similar genes respond to environmental cues and stresses, and some may also regulate development. We demonstrate that the data can be used to correctly predict gene function in monocots and dicots. As a result, we have identified five genes that contribute to disease resistance in Arabidopsis