Effect of hypergravity stimulus on XTH gene expression in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Hypergravity stimulus suppresses plant shoot growth by making the cell wall rigid. Xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase (XTH) is involved in determining the rigidity of cell walls. We demonstrated that hypergravity influenced the expression of some XTH genes in shoots of Arabidopsis thaliana L.; in response to hypergravity stimulus of 300 g, the expression of AtXTH22 was up-regulated, while that of AtXTH15 was down-regulated. The effect of hypergravity on the expression of these genes was nullified by lanthanum chloride at 0.1 mM, suggesting that the expression of these XTH genes in Arabidopsis is under the control of the mechanoreceptor.