Expression Patterns of OsPIL11, a Phytochrome-Interacting Factor in Rice, and Preliminary Analysis of Its Roles in Light Signal Transduction

The expression patterns of OsPIL11, one of six putative phytochrome-interacting factors, were analyzed in different organs of transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). The expression of OsPIL11 was organ-specific and was regulated by leaf development, abscisic acid (ABA), jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA). To further explore the role of OsPIL11 in plant light signal transduction, a plant expression vector of OsPIL11 was constructed and introduced into tobacco. When grown under continuous red light, OsPIL11-overexpressed transgenic tobacco exhibited shorter hypocotyls and larger cotyledons and leaves compared to wild-type seedlings. When grown under continuous far-red light, however, transgenic and wild-type seedlings showed similar phenotypes. These results indicate that OsPIL11 is involved in red light induced de-etiolation, but not in far-red light induced de-etiolation in transgenic tobacco, which lays the foundation for dissecting the function of OsPIL11 in phytochrome-mediated light signal transduction in rice.