Sugar-dependent gene expression in xylose grown A. thaliana cell suspension culture

Sugars modulate expression of hundreds of genes in plants. Previous studies on sugar signaling, using intact plants or plant tissues, were hampered by tissue heterogeneity, uneven sugar transport and/or inter-conversions of the applied sugars. This, in turn, could obscure the identity of a specific sugar that acts as a signal affecting expression of given gene in a given tissue or cell-type. To bypass those biases, we have developed a novel biological system, based on stem-cell-like Arabidopsis suspension culture. The cells were grown in a hormone-free medium and were sustained on xylose as the only carbon source. The functional genomics approach was used to identify sugar responsive genes, which rapidly (within 1 h) respond specifically to low concentration (1 mM) of glucose, fructose and/or sucrose.

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Kunz S, Pesquet E, Kleczkowski LA