Work

The Angiosperm Gibberellin-GID1-DELLA Growth Regulatory Mechanism: How an “Inhibitor of an Inhibitor” Enables Flexible Response to Fluctuating Environments

Year: 2009

Type: review

Abstract: The phytohormone gibberellin (GA) has long been known to regulate the growth, development, and life cycle progression of flowering plants. However, the molecular GA-GID1-DELLA mechanism that enables plants to respond to GA has only recently been discovered. In addition, studies published in the last few years have highlighted previously unsuspected roles for the GA-GID1-DELLA mechanism in regulating growth response to environmental variables. Here, we review these advances within a general plant biology context and speculate on the answers to some remaining questions. We also discuss the hypothesis that the GA-GID1-DELLA mechanism enables flowering plants to maintain transient growth arrest, giving them the flexibility to survive periods of adversity.

Source: The Plant Cell

DOI: 10.1105/tpc.109.066969

Authors: Nicholas P. Harberd, Eric Belfield, Yuki Yasumura

Institution: University of Oxford

Language: English

Topic: Plant Molecular Biology Research

Subfield: Plant Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: Directorate for Biological Sciences, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council

Awards: G218559793, Microarray-based discovery of plant growth-regulatory genes, G8120971762