Phytochrome A (phyA) is an important photoreceptor controlling many processes throughout the plant life cycle. It is unique within the phytochrome family for its ability to mediate photomorphogenic responses to continuous far-red light and for the strong photocontrol of its transcript level and protein stability. Here we describe a dominant mutant of garden pea (Pisum sativum) that displays dramatically enhanced responses to light, early photoperiod-independent flowering, and impaired photodestruction of phyA. The mutant carries a single base substitution in the PHYA gene that is genetically inseparable from the mutant phenotype. This substitution is predicted to direct the replacement of a conserved Ala in an N-terminal region of PHYA that is highly divergent between phyA and other phytochromes. This result identifies a region of the phyA photoreceptor molecule that may play an important role in its fate after photoconversion.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Plant biology
Research Field:	Plant physiology
Objective Division:	Plant Production and Plant Primary Products
Objective Group:	Grains and seeds
Objective Field:	Grain legumes
UTAS Author:	Weller, JL (Associate Professor Jim Weller)
UTAS Author:	Batge, SL (Ms Shona Lee Batge)
UTAS Author:	Smith, JJ (Ms Jenny Smith)
UTAS Author:	Kerckhoffs, LH (Dr Leonardus Kerckhoffs)
UTAS Author:	Murfet, IC (Professor Ian Murfet)
UTAS Author:	Reid, JB (Professor Jim Reid)
ID Code:	29849
Year Published:	2004
Web of Science® Times Cited:	30
Deposited By:	Plant Science
Deposited On:	2004-08-01
Last Modified:	2007-11-02
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