Peach is an economically import fruit crop worldwide, and serves as a model species of the Rosaceae family as well. However, peach functional genomics studies are severely hampered due to its recalcitrance to regeneration and stable transformation. Here, we report a fast and efficient Agrobacterium rhizogenes-mediated transformation system in peach. Various explants, including leaf, hypocotyl and shoot, were all able to induce transgenic hairy roots, with a transformation efficiency of over 50% for hypocotyl. Composite plants were generated by infecting shoots with A. rhizogenes to induce transgenic adventitious hairy roots. The composite plant system was successfully used to validate function of an anthocyanin-related regulatory gene PpMYB10.1 in transgenic hairy roots, and two downstream genes, PpUFGT and PpGST, were strongly activated. Our stable and reproductive A. rhizogenes-mediated transformation system provides an avenue for gene function assay, genetic engineering, and investigation of root-rhizosphere microorganism interaction in peach. open Scientific RepoRtS | (2020) 10:2836 | https://doi.
Background: Sugar content is an important determinant of fruit sweetness, but details on the complex molecular mechanism underlying fruit sugar accumulation remain scarce. Here, we report the role of sucrose transporter (SUT) family in regulating fruit sugar accumulation in apple. Results: Gene-tagged markers were developed to conduct candidate gene-based association study, and an SUT4 member MdSUT4.1 was found to be significantly associated with fruit sugar accumulation. MdSUT4.1 encodes a tonoplast localized protein and its expression level had a negative correlation with fruit sugar content. Overexpression of MdSUT4.1 in strawberry and apple callus had an overall negative impact on sugar accumulation, suggesting that it functions to remobilize sugar out of the vacuole. In addition, MdSUT4.1 is located on chromosomal region harboring a previously reported QTL for sugar content, suggesting that it is a candidate gene for fruit sugar accumulation in apple. Conclusions: MdSUT4.1 is involved in the regulation of fruit sugar accumulation in apple. This study is not only helpful for understanding the complex mechanism of fruit sugar accumulation, but it also provides molecular tools for genetic improvement of fruit quality in breeding programs of apple.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.