A Cys2/His2 Zinc Finger Protein Acts as a Repressor of the Green Revolution Gene SD1/OsGA20ox2 in Rice (Oryza sativa L.).

Gibberellins (GAs) play important roles in the regulation of plant growth and development. The green revolution gene SD1 encoding gibberellin 20-oxidase 2 (GA20ox2) has been widely used in modern rice breeding. However, the molecular mechanism of how SD1/OsGA20ox2 expression is regulated remains unclear. Here, we report a Cys2/His2 zinc finger protein ZFP207 acting as a transcriptional repressor of OsGA20ox2. ZFP207 was mainly accumulated in young tissues and more specifically in culm nodes. ZFP207-overexpression (ZFP207OE) plants displayed semidwarfism phenotype and small grains by modulating cell length. RNA interference of ZFP207 caused increased plant height and grain length. The application of exogenous GA3 could rescue the semidwarf phenotype of ZFP207OE rice seedlings. Moreover, ZFP207 repressed the expression of OsGA20ox2 via binding to its promoter region. Taken together, ZFP207 acts as a transcriptional repressor of SD1/OsGA20ox2 and it may play a critical role in plant growth and development in rice through the fine-tuning of GA biosynthesis .

Theoretical studies of lattice distortions around the impurity ions in V2+ doped CdCl2, CdI2 and PbI2.

The lattice distortions around the impurity ions in V(2+) doped CdCl(2), CdI(2) and PbI(2) are theoretically studied from the perturbation formulas of the spin Hamiltonian (SH) parameters zero-field splitting, g factors and the hyperfine structure constants for a 3d(3) ion in trigonal symmetry based on the cluster approach. In these formulas, the contributions from the s-orbitals of the ligands are taken into account. Based on the studies, it is found that the local angles beta (between the impurity-ligand bonding lengths and the C(3) axis) in the impurity centers are smaller than the angles beta(H) in the hosts. The calculated SH parameters based on the above local angles beta show better agreement than those on neglecting of the ligand s-orbital contributions (and those on the host angles beta(H)) with the experimental data.

Theoretical studies of the spin Hamiltonian parameters and local structures for Cs3CoX5 (X = Cl, Br).

The spin Hamiltonian (SH) parameters (zero-field splitting D and anisotropic g factors g(||) and g( perpendicular)) and local structures for Cs(3)CoX(5) (X = Cl, Br) are theoretically studied from the perturbation formulas of the SH parameters for a 3d(7) ion in tetragonally distorted tetrahedra based on the cluster approach. In these formulas, both the contributions from the crystal-field (CF) mechanism and those from the charge-transfer (CT) mechanism are taken into account. It is found that the [CoX(4)](2-) clusters are slightly elongated and the tetragonal distortion angles Deltatheta(=theta-theta(0), where theta(0) equals to approximately 54.74 degrees is the bonding angle related to the C(4)-axis in regular tetrahedra) are about -1.68 degrees and -1.71 degrees for X = Cl and Br, respectively. The calculated SH parameters as well as the effective magnetic moments based on the above angles are in reasonable agreement with the observed values. From the studies, the importance of the contributions to the SH parameters from the CT mechanism increases with increasing the spin-orbit coupling coefficient of the ligand, i.e., Cl(-) < Br(-). The results are compared with those obtained from the conventional crystal-field model in the previous works.

Theoretical studies of the local structure for the trigonal Ti(3+) center in LiF crystal.

The local structure of the trigonal Ti(3+) center in LiF crystal is theoretically investigated by using the perturbation formulas of the anisotropic g factors and g(//) and g(/_) for a 3d(1) ion in trigonally distorted octahedra based on the cluster approach. From the studies on the basis of various possible structure models, the local structure of the trigonal Ti(3+) center may be characterized as [TiF(3)O(3)](6-) cluster (or model I). In this model, the impurity Ti(3+) is expected to substitute for the host Li(+) ion and shift away from its regular lattice site along the [111] (or C(3)) axis by about 0.19 A due to the strong electrostatic attraction of the O(2-) triangle replacing the original F(-) triangle. The magnitude of the above displacement obtained in this work is comparable with that ( approximately 0.2-0.3A) given by ENDOR experiment. Moreover, the cubic field parameter Dq (approximately 1497 cm(-1)) based on the above structure model is also in agreement with that (approximately 1500 cm(-1)) obtained from the experimental optical spectra of the studied system. The theoretical investigations of the local structure in this work may be useful to understand optical properties of Ti-doped LiF.

Theoretical studies of the spin Hamiltonian parameters and the local structures for M2+ (M=Co, Mn, V and Ni) ions in CsMgCl3.

The spin Hamiltonian parameters (zero-field splitting D, g factors g parallel, g perpendicular and hyperfine structure constants A parallel, A perpendicular) for M2+ (M=Co, Mn, V and Ni) ions in CsMgCl3 are studied by using the perturbation formulas of the spin Hamiltonian parameters for 3dn (n=7, 5, 3, 8) ions in trigonal symmetry based on the cluster approach. In these formulas, the contributions to the spin Hamiltonian parameters from the admixture of d orbitals of the central ions with the p orbitals of the ligands and from the trigonal distortion are included and the parameters related to these effects can be obtained from the optical spectra and the local structures of the studied systems. Based on the studies, it is found that the local trigonal distortion angle beta in the M2+ impurity center is unlike that betaH (approximately 51.71 degrees) in the host CsMgCl3. The spin Hamiltonian parameters for these divalent ions in CsMgCl3 are also satisfactorily explained by using the local angle beta. The validity of the results is discussed.