Light regulation of beta-tubulin gene expression during internode development in soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.)

The relationship between tubulin gene expression and cell elongation was explored in developing internodes of Glycine max (L.) Merr., using light as a variable to alter the rate of elongation. First internodes of etiolated seedlings elongated two to three times more rapidly than did those of seedlings growing under a 12 hour diurnal light/dark cycle. Furthermore, light slowed or completely halted internode elongation in the etiolated seedlings, depending upon the age of the seedlings at the time of the light treatment. Steady state levels of beta-tubulin mRNA were determined in Northern blots and by solution hybridization of poly(A)+RNA with a probe derived from the coding region of a previously characterized soybean beta-tubulin gene. (MJ Guiltinan, DP Ma, RF Barker, MM Bustos, RJ Cyr, R Yadegari, DE Fosket [1987] Plant Mol Biol 10: 171-184). Internodes of light-grown seedlings exhibited levels of beta-tubulin mRNA that differed by a factor of three, and varied concomitantly with the elongation rate. Illumination of 10-day-old etiolated seedlings not only stopped first internode elongation, but also brought about a 80% decrease in the steady state level of beta-tubulin mRNA over the course of the subsequent 12 hours. This strong down regulation of beta-tubulin mRNA occurred without significant changes in the size of the soluble tubulin pool and it was accompanied by a marked increase in chlorophyll a/b binding protein mRNA