bims-plasge 2019-09-22 papers

Theor Appl Genet. 2019 Sep 16.

Recombination between homoeologous chromosomes induced in durum wheat by the Aegilops speltoides Su1-Ph1 suppressor.

Hao Li, Le Wang, Ming-Cheng Luo, Fang Nie, Yun Zhou, Patrick E McGuire, Assaf Distelfeld, Xiongtao Dai, Chunpeng Song, Jan Dvorak.

KEY MESSAGE: Su1-Ph1, which we previously introgressed into wheat from Aegilops speltoides, is a potent suppressor of Ph1 and a valuable tool for gene introgression in tetraploid wheat. We previously introgressed Su1-Ph1, a suppressor of the wheat Ph1 gene, from Aegilops speltoides into durum wheat cv Langdon (LDN). Here, we evaluated the utility of the introgressed suppressor for inducing introgression of alien germplasm into durum wheat. We built LDN plants heterozygous for Su1-Ph1 that simultaneously contained a single LDN chromosome 5B and a single Ae. searsii chromosome 5Sse, which targeted them for recombination. We genotyped 28 BC1F1 and 84 F2 progeny with the wheat 90-K Illumina single-nucleotide polymorphism assay and detected extensive recombination between the two chromosomes, which we confirmed by non-denaturing fluorescence in situ hybridization (ND-FISH). We constructed BC1F1 and F2 genetic maps that were 65.31 and 63.71 cM long, respectively. Recombination rates between the 5B and 5Sse chromosomes were double the expected rate computed from their meiotic pairing, which we attributed to selection against aneuploid gametes. Recombination rate between 5B and 5Sse was depressed compared to that between 5B chromosomes in the proximal region of the long arm. We integrated ND-FISH signals into the genetic map and constructed a physical map, which we used to map a 172,188,453-bp Ph1 region. Despite the location of the region in a low-recombination region of the 5B chromosome, we detected three crossovers in it. Our data show that Su1-Ph1 is a valuable tool for gene introgression and gene mapping based on recombination between homoeologous chromosomes in wheat.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00122-019-03423-z

BMC Plant Biol. 2019 Sep 18. 19(1): 407

Conserved residues in the wheat (Triticum aestivum) NAM-A1 NAC domain are required for protein binding and when mutated lead to delayed peduncle and flag leaf senescence.

Sophie A Harrington, Lauren E Overend, Nicolas Cobo, Philippa Borrill, Cristobal Uauy.

BACKGROUND: NAC transcription factors contain five highly conserved subdomains which are required for protein dimerisation and DNA binding. Few residues within these subdomains have been identified as essential for protein function, and fewer still have been shown to be of biological relevance in planta. Here we use a positive regulator of senescence in wheat, NAM-A1, to test the impact of missense mutations at specific, highly conserved residues of the NAC domain on protein function.RESULTS: We identified missense mutations in five highly conserved residues of the NAC domain of NAM-A1 in a tetraploid TILLING population. TILLING lines containing these mutations, alongside synonymous and non-conserved mutation controls, were grown under glasshouse conditions and scored for senescence. Four of the five mutations showed a significant and consistent delay in peduncle senescence but had no consistent effects on flag leaf senescence. All four mutant alleles with the delayed senescence phenotype also lost the ability to interact with the homoeolog NAM-B1 in a yeast two-hybrid assay. Two of these residues were previously shown to be involved in NAC domain function in Arabidopsis, suggesting conservation of residue function between species. Three of these four alleles led to an attenuated cell death response compared to wild-type NAM-A1 when transiently over-expressed in Nicotiana benthamiana. One of these mutations was further tested under field conditions, in which there was a significant and consistent delay in both peduncle and leaf senescence.
CONCLUSIONS: We combined field and glasshouse studies of a series of mutant alleles with biochemical analyses to identify four residues of the NAC domain which are required for NAM-A1 function and protein interaction. We show that mutations in these residues lead to a gradient of phenotypes, raising the possibility of developing allelic series of mutations for traits of agronomic importance. We also show that mutations in NAM-A1 more severely impact peduncle senescence, compared to the more commonly studied flag leaf senescence, highlighting this as an area deserving of further study. The results from this integrated approach provide strong evidence that conserved residues within the functional domains of NAC transcription factors have biological significance in planta.

Keywords: Mutants; NAC domain; NAM-A1; Senescence; TILLING; Wheat; Yeast two hybrid

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-019-2022-5

Plant Physiol. 2019 Sep 16. pii: pp.00911.2019. [Epub ahead of print]

NTRC plays a crucial role in starch metabolism, redox balance and tomato fruit growth.

Liang-Yu Hou, Matthias Ehrlich, Ina Thormählen, Martin Lehmann, Ina Krahnert, Toshihiro Obata, Francisco J Cejudo, Alisdair R Fernie, Peter Geigenberger.

NADPH-thioredoxin reductase C (NTRC) forms a separate thiol-reduction cascade in plastids, combining both NADPH-thioredoxin reductase and thioredoxin activities on a single polypeptide. While NTRC is an important regulator of photosynthetic processes in leaves, its function in heterotrophic tissues remains unclear. Here, we focus on the role of NTRC in developing tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fruits representing heterotrophic storage organs important for agriculture and human diet. We used a fruit-specific promoter to decrease NTRC expression by RNA interference in developing tomato fruits by 60-80% compared to the wild type. This led to a decrease in fruit growth, resulting in smaller and lighter fully ripe fruits containing less dry matter and more water. In immature fruits, NTRC down-regulation decreased transient starch accumulation, which led to a subsequent decrease in soluble sugars in ripe fruits. The inhibition of starch synthesis associated with a decrease in the redox-activation state of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase and soluble starch synthase, which catalyze the first committed and final polymerizing steps of starch biosynthesis, respectively. This was accompanied by a decrease in the level of ADP-glucose. NTRC down-regulation also led to a strong increase in the reductive states of NAD(H) and NADP(H) redox systems. Metabolite profiling of NTRC-RNAi lines revealed increased organic and amino acid levels, but reduced sugar levels, implying that NTRC regulates the osmotic balance of developing fruits. These results indicate that NTRC acts as central hub in regulating carbon metabolism and redox balance in heterotrophic tomato fruits, affecting fruit development as well as final fruit size and quality.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.19.00911