Presence of base excision repair enzymes in the wheat aleurone and their activation in cells undergoing programmed cell death

► Gibberellic acid (GA) induces programmed cell death (PCD) in wheat aleurone layer. ► GA induces deoxyribonucleases and trigger internucleosomal DNA fragmentation. ► Wheat DNA glycosylases are activated by the gibberellic acid in aleurone layer cells. ► Activated repair of oxidative DNA damage may help to maintain transcription in cells. ► Activated DNA repair may result in the accumulation of DNA strand breaks in aleurone.