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Free keywords:
auxin
auxin biosynthesis
paramutation
photosynthesis
solanum lycopersicum
sulfurea
cytochrome b(6)f complex
reading frame reveals
indole-3-acetic-acid biosynthesis
targeted inactivation
tropaeolum-majus
plastid genome
maize
arabidopsis
tobacco
tryptophan
Abstract:
The tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) sulfurea mutation displays trans-inactivation of wild-type alleles in heterozygous plants, a phenomenon referred to as paramutation. Homozygous mutant plants and paramutated leaf tissue of heterozygous plants show a pigment-deficient phenotype. The molecular basis of this phenotype and the function of the SULFUREA gene (SULF) are unknown. Here, a comprehensive physiological analysis of the sulfurea mutant is reported which suggests a molecular function for the SULFUREA locus. It is found that the sulf mutant is auxin-deficient and that the pigment-deficient phenotype is likely to represent only a secondary consequence of the auxin deficiency. This is most strongly supported by the isolation of a suppressor mutant which shows an auxin overaccumulation phenotype and contains elevated levels of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Several lines of evidence point to a role of the SULF gene in tryptophan-independent auxin biosynthesis, a pathway whose biochemistry and enzymology is still completely unknown. Thus, the sulfurea mutant may provide a promising entry point into elucidating the tryptophan-independent pathway of IAA synthesis.