Insertional Mutants in Arabidopsis Response Regulator Genes

Recent discoveries of two-component system homologs in Arabidopsis thaliana and other higher plants brought about intensive research of the possible function of histidine kinases and response regulators in these organisms. Our laboratory has chosen to use reverse genetic approaches to obtain insertional mutants (knock-outs) in Arabidopsis response regulator genes because of their possible function in cytokinin and/or nitrate signal transduction. So far we have identified insertions in four response regulator genes. We will present detailed characteristics of the insertions as well as our preliminary results in associating phenotypic changes with each of these mutations.