Functional analysis of theGbDWARF14gene associated with branching development in cotton

Abstract

Plant architecture, including branching pattern, is an important agronomic trait of cotton crops. In recent years, strigolactones (SLs) have been considered important plant hormones that regulate branch development. In some species such as Arabidopsis, DWARF14 is an unconventional receptor that plays an important role in the SL signaling pathway. However, studies on SL receptors in cotton are still lacking. Here, we cloned and analysed the structure of the GbD14 gene in Gossypium barbadense and found that it contains the domains necessary for a SL receptor. The GbD14 gene was expressed primarily in the roots, leaves and vascular bundles, and the GbD14 protein was determined via GFP to localize to the cytoplasm and nucleus. Gene expression analysis revealed that the GbD14 gene not only responded to SL signals but also was differentially expressed between cotton plants whose types of branching differed. In particular, GbD14 was expressed mainly in the axillary buds of normal-branching cotton, while it was expressed the most in the leaves of nulliplex-branch cotton. In cotton, the GbD14 gene can be induced by SL and other plant hormones, such as indoleacetic acid, abscisic acid, and jasmonic acid. Compared with wild-type Arabidopsis, GbD14-overexpressing Arabidopsis responded more rapidly to SL signals. Moreover, we also found that GbD14 can rescue the multi-branched phenotype of Arabidopsis Atd14 mutants. Our results indicate that the function of GbD14 is similar to that of AtD14, and GbD14 may be a receptor for SL in cotton and involved in regulating branch development. This research provides a theoretical basis for a profound understanding of the molecular mechanism of branch development and ideal plant architecture for cotton breeding improvements.

Genome sequencing of the Australian wild diploid species Gossypium australe highlights disease resistance and delayed gland morphogenesis

“…Another study reported that a single transcription factor, IPA1 (Ideal Plant Architecture 1), promotes both yield and disease resistance by sustaining a balance between growth and immunity in rice (Wang et al ., ). Other work has shown that DWARF14 acts as a receptor for strigolactones in the SL signalling pathway both in rice and cotton (Sun et al ., ; Wang et al ., ). Overexpression of Loose Plant Architecture 1 enabled increased planting densities and resistance to sheath blight disease via activation of PIN‐FORMED 1a in rice (Sun et al ., ).…”

Light‐ and temperature‐entrainable circadian clock in soybean development

“…. In plants, time-keeping pacemakers adjust the period and phase of endogenous circadian rhythms in response to external and internal cues, conferring improved fitness (Yanovsky & Kay, 2003;Dodd et al, 2005; de Montaigu et al, 2010; Wang et al, 2011;Sun et al, 2016;Sun et al, 2018;Wang et al, 2019). In recent years, orthologs of many Arabidopsis clock-associated components have been identified in multiple agricultural crops and have been shown to function in the regulation of agronomic traits (Campoli et al, 2012;Bendix et al, 2013;Liu et al, 2015;Xie et al, 2015;Muller et al, 2016;Liew et al, 2017;Lu et al, 2017).…”

Rapid analysis of strigolactone receptor activity in aNicotiana benthamiana dwarf14mutant

“…This has been demonstrated through analysis of d14 mutants in petunia (Petunia hybrida), rice (Orzya sativa), Arabidopsis thaliana, canola (Brassica napus), pea (Pisum sativum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum), Medicago truncatula, and Lotus japonicus, as well as RNAi knockdown of D14 in soybean hairy roots (Arite et al, 2009;Hamiaux et al, 2012;Waters et al, 2012;Lauressergues et al, 2015;Marzec et al, 2016;de Saint Germain et al, 2016;Carbonnel et al, 2019;Ahmad et al, 2020;Liu et al, 2021;Stanic et al, 2021). D14 orthologs from cotton, Populus trichocarpa, and chrysanthemum have also been studied indirectly through cross-species complementation of an Arabidopsis d14 (Atd14) mutant (Wen et al, 2015;Zheng et al, 2016;Wang et al, 2019). This approach enables in vivo analysis of gene function for species that have fewer genetic resources available or are less tractable to genetic studies than the major model plant systems (e.g.…”