A new role for the Arabidopsis AP2 transcription factor, LEAFY PETIOLE, in gibberellin-induced germination is revealed by the misexpression of a homologous gene, SOB2/DRN-LIKE

Gibberellic acid (GA) promotes germination, stem/hypocotyl elongation, and leaf expansion during seedling development. Using activation-tagging mutagenesis, we identified a mutation, sob2-D (for suppressor of phytochromeB-4 [phyB-4]#2 dominant), which suppresses the long-hypocotyl phenotype of a phyB missense allele, phyB-4. This mutant phenotype is caused by the overexpression of an APETALA2 transcription factor, SOB2, also called DRN-like. SOB2/DRN-like transcript is not detectable in wild-type seedling or adult tissues via RT-PCR analysis, suggesting that SOB2/DRN-like may not be involved in seedling development under normal conditions. Adult sob2-D phyB-4 plants have curled leaves and club-like siliques, resembling plants that overexpress a closely related gene, LEAFY PETIOLE (LEP). Hypocotyls of a LEP-null allele, lep-1, are shorter in the light and dark, suggesting LEP involvement in seedling development. This aberrant hypocotyl phenotype is due at least in part to a delay in germination. In addition, lep-1 is less responsive to GA and more sensitive to the GA biosynthesis inhibitor paclobutrazol, indicating that LEP is a positive regulator of GA-induced germination. RT-PCR shows that LEP transcript accumulates in wild-type seeds during imbibition and germination, and the transcript levels of REPRESSOR OF ga1-3-LIKE2(RGL2), a negative regulator of GA signaling during germination, is unaffected in lep-1. These results suggest LEP is a positive regulator of GA-induced germination acting independently of RGL2. An alternative model places LEP downstream of RGL2 in the GA-signaling cascade.