Leaf senescence is delayed in tobacco plants expressing the maize homeobox gene knotted1 under the control of a senescence-activated promoter

Naomi Ori, Michelle T. Juarez, David Jackson, Judy Yamaguchi, Gary M. Banowetz, Sarah Hake*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

162 Scopus citations

Abstract

Leaf senescence is an active process involving remobilization of nutrients from senescing leaves to other parts of the plant. Whereas senescence is accompanied by a decline in leaf cytokinin content, supplemental cytokinin delays senescence. Plants that overexpress isopentenyl transferase (ipt), a cytokinin-producing gene, or knotted1 (kn1), a homeobox gene, have many phenotypes in common. Many of these phenotypes are characteristic of altered cytokinin physiology. The effect of kn1 on leaf senescence was tested by driving its expression using the promoter of the senescence-associated gene SAG12. SAG:kn1 tobacco plants showed a marked delay in leaf senescence but otherwise developed normally. The delay in senescence was revealed by an increase in chlorophyll content in SAG:kn1 leaves relative to leaves of the control plants and by a decrease in the number of dead leaves. Senescence was also delayed in detached leaves of SAG:kn1 plants. Delayed senescence was accompanied by increased leaf cytokinin content in older leaves expressing kn1. These experiments extend the current understanding of kn1 function and suggest that in addition to mediating meristem maintenance, kn1 is capable of regulating the onset of senescence in leaves.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1073-1080
Number of pages8
JournalPlant Cell
Volume11
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 1999
Externally publishedYes

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