Finding the missing genes in hormone-biosynthesis pathway hints at subtle control of growth in rice
Thursday, May 2, 2013 - 08:00
in Biology & Nature
The plant hormones known as gibberellins (GAs) are growth promoters that are involved in a wide range of processes from seed germination to flower development. The details of the biosynthesis of GAs, however, have yet to be fully clarified. Hiroshi Magome and colleagues of the Gene Discovery Research Group at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science have now identified genes for two 'cytochrome P450' enzymes involved in GA biosynthesis in rice.