Promotive effect of brassinosteroids on cell division involves a distinct CycD3-induction pathway in Arabidopsis

Brassinosteroids (BRs) are steroid hormones that play an essential role in plant growth and development. However, the contradictory results of previous studies make their role in cell division unclear. Using a cDNA array, we identified genes that respond to BR in the det2 suspension culture of Arabidopsis, and found that epi-brassinolide upregulated transcription of the CycD3, a D-type plant cyclin gene through which cytokinin activates cell division. RNA gel-blot analysis and cell culturing showed that epi-brassinolide may promote cell division through CycD3, and can substitute cytokinin in culturing of Arabidopsis callus and suspension cells. The CycD3 induction by epi-brassinolide was further shown to involve de novo protein synthesis, but no protein phosphorylation or dephosphorylation. Induction was also found to occur in cells of a BR-insensitive mutant, bri1, suggesting that BR induces CycD3 transcription through a previously unknown signal pathway in plants.