Growth regulation of cow1 rice mutant seedlings by blue Light

We assessed whether the cow1 mutant defects are associated with growth of Tos17 and T-DNA insertional rice in blue light (BL). Growth of oscow1 mutants which encoded a member of the YUCCA protein family was retarded in BL. Root to shoot ratios of the mutants were reduced about 2 times lower in the absence of NAA and about 2.5 times lower in the presence of NAA; the shoot growth was not significantly changed by NAA addition. Photosynthetic activity of the mutants was however inhibited in high light. Pigment analysis showed significant difference between wild-type (Chl a:b=3.02) and mutants (3.84). Carotenoid contents of the mutants were also decreased considerably, implying the involvement of cow1 in pigment formation. These findings lead us to suggest that the growth retardation of oscow1 mutant plants by BL results from the difference of photosynthetic activity in part.