Identification of YUC genes associated with leaf wrinkling trait in Tacai variety of Chinese cabbage

Abstract

Chinese cabbage (Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis (L.) Makino) stands as a widely cultivated leafy vegetable in China, with its leaf morphology significantly influencing both quality and yield. Despite its agricultural importance, the precise mechanisms governing leaf wrinkling development remain elusive. This investigation focuses on ‘Wutacai’, a representative cultivar of the Tacai variety (Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis var. rosularis Tsen et Lee), renowned for its distinct leaf wrinkling characteristics. Within the genome of ‘Wutacai’, we identified a total of 18 YUCs, designated as BraWTC_YUCs, revealing their conservation within the Brassica genus, and their close homology to YUCs in Arabidopsis. Expression profiling unveiled that BraWTC_YUCs in Chinese Cabbage exhibited organ-specific and leaf position-dependent variation. Additionally, transcriptome sequencing data from the flat leaf cultivar ‘Suzhouqing’ and the wrinkled leaf cultivar ‘Wutacai’ revealed differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to auxin during the early phases of leaf development, particularly the YUC gene. In summary, this study successfully identified the YUC gene family in ‘Wutacai’ and elucidated its potential function in leaf wrinkling trait, to provide valuable insights into the prospective molecular mechanisms that regulate leaf wrinkling in Chinese cabbage.