Charactrization of gene for metabolic pathway that is responsible for germination and growth of rice under submerged conditions.

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Rice is able to germinate in a waterlogged, oxygen-deficient environment. When rice seeds are germinated under submerged conditions, only a coleoptile (an organ that has a cylindrical sheath-like form) elongates to lengths of 5-10 cm, and the growth of the foliage leaf primordial of the seminal root does not follow. It is known that the ethanolic fermentation is necessary for efficient elongation of the coleoptiles. In this study, we found that the pathway for conversion of acetaldehyde to acetyl-CoA is also important for the coleoptile elongation. Aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) and acetyl-CoA synthetase (ACS) are responsible for the pathway. At last one gene, ALDH2a and ACSI, is highly expressed in coleoptiles under submerged conditions. Transgenic rice plants, in which antisense ALDH2a ACSI gene is expressed, were generated. Using the transgenic plats, we will examine whether ALDH2 and ACS affect germination of seeds and elongation of coleoptiles under submerged conditions in the near future.