Analysis and Functional Verification of PlPM19L Gene Associated with Drought-Resistance in Paeonia lactiflora Pall.

Abstract

The herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) is widely cultivated as an ornamental, medicinal and edible plant in China. Drought stress can seriously affect the growth of herbaceous peony and reduce its quality. In our previous research, a significantly differentially expressed gene, PM19L, was obtained in herbaceous peony under drought stress based on transcriptome analysis, but little is known about its function. In this study, the first PM19L that was isolated in herbaceous peony was comprised of 910 bp, and was designated as PlPM19L (OP480984). It had a complete open reading frame of 537 bp and encoded a 178-amino acid protein with a molecular weight of 18.95 kDa, which was located in the membrane. When PlPM19L was transferred into tobacco, the transgenic plants had enhanced tolerance to drought stress, potentially due to the increase in the abscisic acid (ABA) content and the reduction in the level of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). In addition, the enhanced ability to scavenge H2O2 under drought stress led to improvements in the enzyme activity and the potential photosynthetic capacity. These results combined suggest that PlPM19L is a key factor to conferring drought stress tolerance in herbaceous peony and provide a scientific theoretical basis for the following improvement in the drought resistance of herbaceous peony and other plants through genetic engineering technology.

Radiation Hormesis in Barley Manifests as Changes in Growth Dynamics Coordinated with the Expression of PM19L-like, CML31-like, and AOS2-like

“…For irradiated and control plants of all cultivars, the change in micro-phenological stages was monitored using a scale suggested in [30], from 00 to 99. The stages on this scale are determined visually through phenological features of organ formation: germination (00-09); seedling growth (10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19); tillering (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29); stem elongation (30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39); booting (40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49); inflorescence (ear/panicle) emergence or earing (50)(51)(52)(53)(54)(55)(56)…”

“…Plant tissues were sampled at seedling, tillering, booting, and earing stages to assess the expression of candidate radiation hormesis genes PM19L-like, CML31-like, and AOS2-like. (40)(41)(42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49); inflorescence (ear/panicle) emergence or earing (50)(51)(52)(53)(54)(55)(56)(57)(58)(59); flowering (60-69); and three stages of grain ripening: milk grain (70-79), dough grain (80-89), and fully ripe (90-99). Plant tissues were sampled at seedling, tillering, booting, and earing stages to assess the expression of candidate radiation hormesis genes PM19L-like, CML31-like, and AOS2like.…”

“…Genes of this family can directly participate in ABA transport and provide drought resistance when overexpressed [40]. The PM19L gene, probably a membrane-localised protein in the ABA signalling pathway, plays a key role in ensuring the drought resistance of Paeonia lactiflora [41]. The pattern of PM19L-like regulation, along with the ontogenetic dynamics, suggests that the accumulation of PM19L-like transcripts in leaves rather than roots is accompanied by enhanced growth rates.…”

“…The pattern of PM19L-like regulation, along with the ontogenetic dynamics, suggests that the accumulation of PM19L-like transcripts in leaves rather than roots is accompanied by enhanced growth rates. Since an enhanced expression of its homologues is associated with improved antioxidant activity and better photosynthetic performance [41], it is plausible to consider that PM19L-like expression in leaves is essential for the radiation hormesis phenomenon. The downregulation of this gene in Fedos seedlings (Table S3) was accompanied by a decrease in thylakoid proton conductivity g H + (Table S2), reflecting a slowing of the ATP synthase through "metabolismrelated" regulation [42] and an increase in qL reflecting the quinone Q A redox state [42].…”

Establishment of a Homologous Silencing System with Intact-Plant Infiltration and Minimized Operation for Studying Gene Function in Herbaceous Peonies

“…For most nonmodel plants, heterogenic verification is a frequently adopted method for gene function research that is carried out over a long period of time. Arabidopsis and tobacco are usually adopted to validate the function of genes associated with bud dormancy, stem growth, flower type, color formation, and stress tolerance in peonies [30][31][32][33]. The gene functional annotation and expression patterns observed from omics data were also regarded as auxiliary references when speculating on gene function in peonies.…”