Characterization of poplar growth-regulating factors and analysis of their function in leaf size control
- PDF / 3,083,352 Bytes
- 11 Pages / 595.276 x 790.866 pts Page_size
- 15 Downloads / 140 Views
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Open Access
Characterization of poplar growthregulating factors and analysis of their function in leaf size control Jinnan Wang1†, Houjun Zhou1,2†, Yanqiu Zhao1, Pengbo Sun1, Fang Tang1,3, Xueqin Song1,3* Meng-Zhu Lu1,3,4*
and
Abstract Background: Growth-regulating factors (GRFs) are plant-specific transcription factors that control organ size. Nineteen GRF genes were identified in the Populus trichocarpa genome and one was reported to control leaf size mainly by regulating cell expansion. In this study, we further characterize the roles of the other poplar GRFs in leaf size control in a similar manner. Results: The 19 poplar GRF genes were clustered into six groups according to their phylogenetic relationship with Arabidopsis GRFs. Bioinformatic analysis, degradome, and transient transcription assays showed that 18 poplar GRFs were regulated by miR396, with GRF12b the only exception. The functions of PagGRF6b (Pag, Populus alba × P. glandulosa), PagGRF7a, PagGRF12a, and PagGRF12b, representing three different groups, were investigated. The results show that PagGRF6b may have no function on leaf size control, while PagGRF7a functions as a negative regulator of leaf size by regulating cell expansion. By contrast, PagGRF12a and PagGRF12b may function as positive regulators of leaf size control by regulating both cell proliferation and expansion, primarily cell proliferation. Conclusions: The diversity of poplar GRFs in leaf size control may facilitate the specific, coordinated regulation of poplar leaf development through fine adjustment of cell proliferation and expansion. Keywords: Growth-regulating factor, Phylogenetic relationship, miR396, Leaf development, Populus
Background Growth-regulating factors (GRFs) are plant-specific transcription factors that regulate the growth and development of leaves, roots, stems, flowers, and seeds by regulating cell proliferation or cell expansion, leading to the formation of larger organs [1–4]. GRFs form a multigene family found in the reported plant genomes: six genes in Camellia sinensis, eight genes in Vitis vinifera, * Correspondence: [email protected]; [email protected] † Jinnan Wang and Houjun Zhou contributed equally to this work. 1 State Key Laboratory of Tree Genetics and Breeding, Key Laboratory of Tree Breeding and Cultivation of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, Research Institute of Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Beijing 100091, China Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
nine genes in Arabidopsis thaliana, nine genes in Citrus sinensis, 10 genes in Pyrus bretschneideri, 12 genes in Oryza sativa, 13 genes in Solanum lycopersicum, 14 genes in Zea mays, 17 genes in Brassica rapa, 19 genes in Populus trichocarpa, and 25 genes in Nicotiana tabacum [5–14]. The Glu-Leu-Glu (QLQ) and Trp-ArgCys (WRC) domains are essential for GRF function in protein–protein interactions [15] and DNA binding [16], respectively. Genome-wide analyses revealed that GRFs and a few bZIP transcription factors are the
Data Loading...
