bims-plasge 2019-06-23 papers

Theor Appl Genet. 2019 Jun 20.

Detection of a novel locus involved in non-seed-shattering behaviour of Japonica rice cultivar, Oryzasativa 'Nipponbare'.

Yuki Tsujimura, Shohei Sugiyama, Kotaro Otsuka, Than Myint Htun, Koji Numaguchi, Cristina Castillo, Takashi Akagi, Takashige Ishii, Ryo Ishikawa.

KEY MESSAGE: A novel locus, qCSS3, involved in the non-seed-shattering behaviour of Japonica rice cultivar, 'Nipponbare', was detected by QTL-seq analysis using the segregating population with the fixed known seed-shattering loci. Asian cultivated rice, Oryzasativa, was domesticated from its wild ancestor, O.rufipogon. Loss of seed shattering is one of the most recognisable traits selected during rice domestication. Three quantitative trait loci (QTLs), qSH1, qSH3, and sh4, were previously reported to be involved in the loss of seed shattering of Japonica cultivated rice, O.sativa 'Nipponbare'. However, the introgression line (IL) carrying 'Nipponbare' alleles at these three loci in the genetic background of wild rice, O.rufipogon W630, showed a lower value for detaching a grain from the pedicel than 'Nipponbare'. Here, we investigated abscission layer formation in the IL and found a partially formed abscission layer in the central region between the epidermis and vascular bundles. Based on QTL-seq analysis using the F2 population obtained from a cross between 'Nipponbare' and the IL, we detected two novel loci qCSS3 and qCSS9 (QTL for the Control of Seed Shattering in rice on chromosomes 3 and 9), which were found to be involved in the difference in seed-shattering degree between 'Nipponbare' and W630. Then, we further focused on qCSS3 in order to understand its potential role on the loss of seed shattering. The candidate region of qCSS3 was found to be located within a 526-kb region using substitution mapping analysis. Interestingly, the qCSS3 candidate region partially overlaps the selective sweep detected for Japonica but not for Indica rice cultivars, suggesting that this region harbours the mutation at a novel seed-shattering locus specifically selected for non-seed-shattering behaviour in Japonica cultivars.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-019-03376-3

Theor Appl Genet. 2019 Jun 17.

The anther-specific CYP704B is potentially responsible for MSG26 male sterility in barley.

Juan Qi, Fei Ni, Xiao Wang, Meng Sun, Yu Cui, Jiajie Wu, Allan Caplan, Daolin Fu.

KEY MESSAGE: Plant male sterility is a valuable trait in breeding and hybrid seed production. The barley male-sterility gene msg26 was mapped to a 0.02-cM region that anchors to a 506-kb low-quality assembly between two cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers, SP1M14 and SP1M49. The barley gene HORVU4Hr1G074840, which encodes a putative cytochrome P450 CYP704B protein, appears to be a strong candidate for the MSG26 trait. Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is an important cereal crop worldwide. Traditional breeding in barley is time-consuming and labor-intensive. The use of male-sterile genotypes may significantly improve the efficacy of hybrid breeding and seed production. The barley accession 'GSHO745' is a spontaneous male-sterile mutant from the barley variety, 'Unitan'. The male sterility in 'GSHO745' is controlled by the recessive gene, msg26 (originally named as ms-u). We revealed that the barley plants homozygous for msg26 proceeded normally through Meiosis II until the tetrad stage, but became fully defective in the late uninucleate microspores and developed pollen-less anthers. Using seven barley F2 populations, we mapped MSG26 to a 0.02-cM region that anchored to a 506-kb low-quality assembly between two cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence markers, SP1M14 and SP1M49. The HORVU4Hr1G074840 gene that encodes a putative cytochrome P450 protein (CYP704B) was identified as the most plausible candidate for MSG26. First, HORVU4Hr1G074840 is located in a collinear region of the rice CYP704B2 and the maize CYP704B1. Both of these genes are essential for male gamete production. Second, the male-sterile allele of HORVU4Hr1G074840 in GSHO745 contained a 4-bp deletion in the last exon. The resulting frame shift causes a Gly436Gln substitution, scrambles the sequence of the remainder of the protein, and forms a new termination site at the 70th triplet of the shifted reading frame. We thus called the variant protein CYP704B:p.G436Qfs*70. Third, the barley HORVU4Hr1G074840 gene was specifically expressed in anthers. Altogether, HORVU4Hr1G074840 represents a strong candidate for MSG26 in barley.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-019-03363-8

BMC Plant Biol. 2019 Jun 20. 19(1): 265

The tomato WV gene encoding a thioredoxin protein is essential for chloroplast development at low temperature and high light intensity.

Shenghua Gao, Wenjing Gao, Xiaoli Liao, Cheng Xiong, Gang Yu, Qihong Yang, Changxian Yang, Zhibiao Ye.

BACKGROUND: Chloroplast biogenesis, a complex process in higher plants, is the key to photoautotrophic growth in plants. White virescent (wv) mutants have been used to unfold the molecular mechanisms underlying the regulation of chloroplast development and chloroplast gene expression in plants. However, most of genes controlling white virescent phenotype still remain unknown.RESULTS: In this study, we identified a temperature- and light intensity-sensitive mutant, named as wv. The content of chlorophyll was dramatically decreased in the immature leaves of wv mutant under the conditions of low temperature and high-light intensity. TEM observation showed that the chloroplasts in the young leaves of wv mutant lacked an organized thylakoid membrane, whereas crescent-shaped chloroplasts with well-developed stromal and stacked grana thylakoids in the mature leaves were developed. Immunoblot analyses suggested that proteins of photosynthetic complexes were decreased substantially in wv mutants. Based on map-based cloning and transgenic analysis, we determined that the wv phenotype was caused by single base mutation in the first intron of WV gene, which encoded a thioredoxin protein with 365 amino acids. qRT-PCR analysis revealed that the expression of WV gene was significantly down-regulated in wv mutant. In addition, knockdown of WV gene through RNAi also resulted in white virescent young leaves, suggesting that the mutation possibly blocks the differentiation of chloroplasts through inhibiting the expression of WV gene. Furthermore, the expression of WV peaked in apical buds and gradually decreased along with the developmental stage, which was consistent with the wv mutant phenotype. Expression analysis of chloroplast-encoded genes by qRT-PCR showed that the wv mutation affected the expression pattern of chloroplast-encoded PEP dependent genes.
CONCLUSION: Our results suggested that wv mutant was sensitive to low temperature and light intensity. WV gene was essential for chloroplast differentiation. A single base mutation in the first intron resulted in down-regulation of WV gene expression, which inhibited the expression of chloroplast-encoded genes, thereby blocking chloroplast formation and chlorophyll synthesis.

Keywords: Chloroplast; Leaf color; Map-based cloning; Tomato; Wv

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-019-1829-4