Differential expression of a novel gene EaF82a in green and yellow sectors of variegated Epipremnum aureum leaves is related to uneven distribution of auxin

Abstract

EaF82, a gene identified in previous studies of the variegated plant Epipremnum aureum, exhibited a unique expression pattern with greater transcript abundance in yellow sectors than green sectors of variegated leaves, but lower abundance in regenerated pale yellow plants than in green plants derived from leaf tissue culture. Studies of its full-length cDNA and promoter region revealed two members with only the EaF82a expressed. Immunoblotting confirmed that EaF82a encodes a 12 kDa protein and its accumulation consistent with its gene expression patterns in different color tissues. Transient expression of EaF82a-sGFP fusion proteins in protoplasts showed that EaF82a seems to be present in the cytosol as unidentified spots. Sequence motif search reveals a potential auxin responsive element in promoter region. Using transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings carrying EaF82a promoter driving the bacterial uidA (GUS) gene, an increased GUS activity was observed when IAA (indole-3-acetic acid) concentration was elevated. In E. aureum, EaF82a is more abundant at the site where axillary buds emerge and at the lower side of bending nodes where more IAA accumulates relative to the upper side. The measurement of endogenous IAA levels in different color tissues revealed the same pattern of IAA distribution as that of EaF82a expression, further supporting that EaF82a is an IAA responsive gene. EaF82a expression in etiolated transgenic Arabidopsis seedlings responded to IAA under the influence of light suggesting a microenvironment of uneven light condition affects the EaF82a transcript levels and protein accumulation in variegated leaves.

A rapid alkalinization factor-like peptide EaF82 impairs tapetum degeneration during pollen development through induced ATP deficiency

“…2a, b). Similarly, in our previously created EaF82p::GUS plants 16 , less GUS activity was observed in mature flowers than in early stages of closed flower buds (Fig. 2c), where high auxin accumulation has been reported 24 .…”

“…EaF82 is a novel gene differentially expressed between green and yellow/white sectors of variegated ‘Golden Pothos’ leaves with its transcript and protein accumulation elevated in color defective sectors in comparison with their green counterparts 16 . EaF82 contains no intron 16 , and encodes a 120 amino acid long peptide with a 30 amino acid signal peptide at the N -terminus and four cysteine residues (Fig. 1a), sharing the typical features with numerous plant RALFs 19 .…”

“…along with staining of blots were performed as previously described 16 . To detect EaF82, custommade anti-EaF82 antibody was used 16 .…”

Chlorophyll Biosynthetic Capacity and Xanthophyll Cycle of a White-Green Variegated Ficus microcarpa Cv. Milky Stripe

“…Much remains unknown about the mechanisms behind the determination of the variegation patterns. Recently, a study reveals the association IAA and the IAA responsive gene EaF82a in the variegation of Epipremnum aureum [41]. Their results suggested a new direction for studying the regulatory pathway of plant variegation by looking into the function of IAA.…”

Gibberellin deficiency is responsible for shy-flowering nature of Epipremnum aureum

“…Like the most non-model plants, very little molecular work has been done in E. aureum. Only few genes have been cloned and characterized to determine its evolutionary position 19 and to understand its variegated leaf formation 20 21 . To uncover its shy-flowering nature, we first applied next generation sequencing technology, which enables to generate transcriptomic sequences without known genome information 22 , to build its de novo transcriptome.…”