Cytokinin (CK) is one of key phytohormones for de-differentiation and de novo organogenesis in plants. During the CK-mediated organogenesis not only genes in CK homeostasis, perception and signal transduction, but also factors regulating basic transcription, splicing and chromatin remodeling contribute to coordinate a sequence of events leading to formation of new organs. We have found that silencing of RNA polymerase II CTD-phosohatase-like 4 (CPL4RNAi) in Arabidopsis induces CK-oversensitive de novo shoot organogenesis (DNSO) from roots, partly by early activation of transcription factors such as WUSCHEL and SHOOT MERISTEMLESS during pre-incubation on callus induction media. Here we show that a cluster of thalianol-biogenesis genes is highly expressed in the CPL4RNAi during DNSO, implying involvement of CPL4 in transcriptional regulation of the thalianol pathway in DNSO.
Keywords: Arabidopsis; Pol II-CTD phosphatase-like 4; de novo shoot organogenesis; regeneration.