Expression of Kip-related protein 4 gene (KRP4) in response to auxin and cytokinin during growth of Arabidopsis thaliana

The cell cycle is regulated by cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK)-cyclin complexes as well as other regulators. We isolated Kip-related protein 4 (KRP4) cDNA that encodes 289 amino acids including six conserved domains. To investigate the expression pattern of KRP4 as well as of other cell cycle-related genes associated with plant hormones, Arabidopsis seedlings were cultured on MS medium containing auxin or cytokinin. All seedlings treated with phytohormones displayed an increased proportion of cells in S phase. A higher proportion of cells in G2 phase was observed in seedlings treated with NAA. RT-PCR confirmed that the expression of KRP4 was decreased after treatment with phytohormones, and that CDKA and D-type cyclin transcription was increased. Additionally, mitotic cyclins were up-regulated by NAA treatment. These results suggest that KRP4 as well as other cell cycle-related genes might contribute to the control of plant growth in response to exogenous hormones.