Chinese Bulletin of Botany ›› 2013, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (4): 389-397.DOI: 10.3724/SP.J.1259.2013.00389

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Arabidopsis Callose Synthase Gene GSL8 is Required for Cell Wall Formation and Establishment and Maintenance of Quiescent Center

Lin Liu1*, Xianqing Quan1, Xiaomei Zhao1, Lihua Huang1, Shangcai Feng2, Kunyan Huang1, Xiaoyan Zhou1, Wenting Su1   

  1. 1College of Life Sciences, Linyi University, Linyi 276005, China;

    2Modern TCM Institute, Linyi University, Linyi 276005, China
  • Received:2012-07-27 Revised:2012-11-17 Online:2013-07-01 Published:2013-08-09
  • Contact: Lin Liu

Abstract: Callose synthase gene GSL8 in Arabidopsis thaliana was knocked out by means of T-DNA insertion or RNA interference. Cell walls and root apical organization in seeds and seedlings of the knockout lines and wild-type were compared by using light and transmission electron microscopes. Gaps of various sizes were found to occur in cell walls in all knockout lines, and there were no plasma membranes in the gap regions to separate the neighboring cells. No normal quiescent center was established in the embryonic root apices during seed development in the T-DNA mutants. Furthermore, the quiescent center was demonstrated to disappear from the root apices of seedlings as the gene GSL8 was silenced by RNA interference. Based on these observations, it is suggested that the gene GSL8 was involved in the formation of cell wall as well as the establishment and maintenance of quiescent center in the root apex.