Spontaneously occurring mutations in the cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer photolyase gene cause different sensitivities to ultraviolet‐B in rice

Abstract

SummarySensitivity to ultraviolet-B (UVB) radiation (280-320 nm) varies widely among rice cultivars. We previously indicated that UV-resistant rice cultivars are better able to repair cyclobutane pyrimidine dimers (CPDs) through photorepair than are UV-sensitive cultivars. In this paper, we report that UVB sensitivity in rice, in part, is the result of defective CPD photolyase alleles. Surjamkhi (indica) exhibited greater sensitivity to UVB radiation and was more deficient in CPD photorepair ability compared with UV-resistant Sasanishiki (japonica). The deficiency in CPD photorepair in Surjamkhi resulted from changes in two nucleotides at positions 377 and 888 in the photolyase gene, causing alterations of two deduced amino acids at positions 126 and 296 in the photolyase enzyme. A linkage analysis in populations derived from Surjamkhi and Sasanishiki showed that UVB sensitivity is a quantitative inherited trait and that the CPD photolyase locus is tightly linked with a quantitative trait locus that explains a major portion of the genetic variation for this trait. These results suggest that spontaneously occurring mutations in the CPD photolyase gene cause different degrees of sensitivity to UVB in rice, and that the resistance of rice to UVB radiation could be increased by increasing the photolyase function through conventional breeding or bioengineering.

Biochemical and biological properties of DNA photolyases derived from utraviolet-sensitive rice cultivars

“…We further found that the UV-sensitive Norin 1 is defective in CPD photoreactivation in vivo and in vitro (Hidema et al, 2000;Teranishi et al, 2004). A similar correlation between sensitivity to UV and a defective CPD photoreactivation was also observed in an UV-sensitive cultivar of Surjamkhi, the indica rice cultivar (Hidema et al 2001;Hidema et al, 2005). Clarifying the molecular nature of the deficiency of CPD photolyase in Norin 1, Surjamkhi, and other UV-sensitive rice cultivars, may help us to understand the structure and function of class II CPD photolyases.…”

“…Sasanishiki is the most resistant to UV radiation followed by Norin 1, Surjamkhi and Gulfmont in this order. To understand the molecular nature of the difference in UV sensitivity, we cloned the CPD photolyase genes from Sasanishiki (Hirouchi et al, 2003), Norin 1 (Teranishi et al, 2004), Surjamkhi (Hidema et al, 2005), and Gulfmont (this study) as described in Materials and Methods. Figure 2 shows the alignments of amino acids derived from 4 rice caltivars, in which the Sasanishiki, Norin 1, and Surjamkhi CPD photolyase genes encode a 1521-bp ORF coding for 506 amino acid residues, and the Gulfmont CPD photolyase gene encodes a 1446-bp ORF coding for 481 amino acid residues.…”

“…Rice CPD photolyase genes CPD photolyase cDNAs from Sasanishiki (Hirouchi et al, 2003), Norin 1 (Teranishi et al, 2004) and Surjamkhi (Hidema et al, 2005) have been described. A cDNA library of Gulfmont (Life Technology) was screened using oligonucleotide primers used for cloning the Sasanishiki photolyase gene, yielding a Gulfmont CPD photolyase gene with a 1446-bp ORF coding for 481 amino acid residues (DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under accession No.…”

Eukaryotic Class II Cyclobutane Pyrimidine Dimer Photolyase Structure Reveals Basis for Improved Ultraviolet Tolerance in Plants

“…Among isolated Arabidopsis mutants exhibiting decreased UV resistance (UVR), UVR2 and UVR3 genes were, respectively, identified as CPD and (6-4) PHR (18,21,22). Studies in rice confirmed these fundamental assignments and identified polymorphisms among rice strains selected for UV tolerance (20,23,24), supporting the value of an improved knowledge of CPD2PHRs for understanding plant cell biology.…”

The Native Cyclobutane Pyrimidine Dimer Photolyase of Rice Is Phosphorylated

“…The sensitivity of rice (Oryza sativa) to UVB radiation varies among cultivars (Dai et al, 1992;Kumagai and Sato, 1992). We previously found that the CPD photorepair ability in UV-resistant rice is significantly higher than that in UV-sensitive rice and that this is due to an alteration of CPD photolyase activity resulting from spontaneously occurring mutations in the CPD photolyase gene (Teranishi et al, 2004;Hidema et al, 2005;Yamamoto et al, 2007). Furthermore, we recently generated transgenic rice plants bearing the CPD photolyase gene of the UVresistant rice cultivar 'Sasanishiki' in the sense orientation or the antisense orientation .…”