Arabidopsis thaliana GTS1 transcripts are activated by yeast extract

WD40 repeat-containing proteins participate in DNA-protein and protein-protein interactions and positively regulate plant stress responses. GTS1, known as a WD40 repeat-containing protein, works as a scaffold protein and is important in ribosome biogenesis and also biomass accumulation. In this study, we evaluated the GIGANTUS1 (GTS1) gene expression in response to biotic and abiotic stress factors in Arabidopsis thaliana plants. In addition, we grew and characterized A. thaliana gts1 mutant (T-DNA SALK_010647) in order to observe the effects of its absence on plants. According to our results, 100-200 mM abscisic acid (ABA) and 100-200 mM sodium chloride (NaCl) treatment did not cause any changes in GTS1 gene expression, while only 6 h of 1 g/l and 2 g/l yeast extract (YE) treatment negatively affected GTS1 expression in 10-day-old plant explants. After 10 and 30 days of YE treatment, GTS1 gene expression was upregulated, and as a consequence plant growth efficiency was reduced. We thus concluded that through the downregulation of GTS1 transcripts, we could obtain better growth and/or higher biomass, which seems to be a good option for agricultural recruitments.