Microarray analysis of brassinosteroids- and gibberellin-regulated gene expression in rice seedlings

In order to understand the molecular mechanisms by which two types of phytohormones, brassinosteroids (BRs) and gibberellins (GAs), regulate plant growth and development, a cDNA microarray was made containing 4000 clones randomly selected from a rice cDNA library constructed from RNA isolated from seedlings treated with GA(3) and brassinolide (BL). The array was then probed to identify differences in expression using labelled cDNAs prepared from treated and control seedlings. Nine and 29 unique cDNA clones were up-regulated, while 32 and 42 unique cDNA clones were down-regulated by BL and GA(3), respectively. The predicted products of these BL- and GA-regulated genes fall into such functional categories as signal transduction, transcription, metabolism, cellular organization, and defense or anti-stress responses. Northern analysis of the selected BL- and GA(3)-regulated genes not only confirmed their BL or GA(3) dose dependent expression, but also revealed significant differences in the degree of expression in different organs and in response to other phytohormones. These results demonstrate that BR and GA influence growth and development by coordinately regulating the expression of specific groups of genes.