Overexpression of WXP1, a putative Medicago truncatula AP2 domain‐containing transcription factor gene, increases cuticular wax accumulation and enhances drought tolerance in transgenic alfalfa (Medicago sativa)

Zhang, Jiyi; Broeckling, Corey D.; Blancaflor, Elison B.; Sledge, M. K.; Sumner, Lloyd W.; Wang, Zeng‐Yu

doi:10.1111/j.1365-313x.2005.02405.x

Cited by 382 publications

(288 citation statements)

References 71 publications

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“…V. faba flower wax was characterized by high levels of C 22 alcohol (Griffiths et al, 1999), in contrast to either C 26 or C 30 alcohols in leaf waxes of the closely related Fabaceae spp. Phaseolus vulgaris (Steinmüller and Tevini, 1985), Medicago truncatula (Zhang et al, 2005), and Pisum sativum (Gniwotta et al, 2005; the composition of V. faba leaf wax has not been reported yet). Arabidopsis flower wax is dominated by C 29 alkane (Shi et al, 2011), shorter than the prevalent C 31 homolog in leaves (Jenks et al, 1995) but similar to inflorescence stems and siliques (Todd et al, 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wax Layers onCosmos bipinnatusPetals Contribute Unequally to Total Petal Water Resistance

2014

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V6T 1Z1 (R.J.) Cuticular waxes coat all primary aboveground plant organs as a crucial adaptation to life on land. Accordingly, the properties of waxes have been studied in much detail, albeit with a strong focus on leaf and fruit waxes. Flowers have life histories and functions largely different from those of other organs, and it remains to be seen whether flower waxes have compositions and physiological properties differing from those on other organs. This work provides a detailed characterization of the petal waxes, using Cosmos bipinnatus as a model, and compares them with leaf and stem waxes. The abaxial petal surface is relatively flat, whereas the adaxial side consists of conical epidermis cells, rendering it approximately 3.8 times larger than the projected petal area. The petal wax was found to contain unusually high concentrations of C 22 and C 24 fatty acids and primary alcohols, much shorter than those in leaf and stem waxes. Detailed analyses revealed distinct differences between waxes on the adaxial and abaxial petal sides and between epicuticular and intracuticular waxes. Transpiration resistances equaled 3 3 10 4 and 1.5 3 10 4 s m 21 for the adaxial and abaxial surfaces, respectively. Petal surfaces of C. bipinnatus thus impose relatively weak water transport barriers compared with typical leaf cuticles. Approximately two-thirds of the abaxial surface water barrier was found to reside in the epicuticular wax layer of the petal and only one-third in the intracuticular wax. Altogether, the flower waxes of this species had properties greatly differing from those on vegetative organs.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wax Layers onCosmos bipinnatusPetals Contribute Unequally to Total Petal Water Resistance

2014

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“…In addition, overexpression of AP2 domaincontaining transcription factors (Aharoni et al, 2004;Broun et al, 2004;Zhang et al, 2005) has increased cuticular wax load, but no novel components were reported. This study shows that, with the appropriate biosynthetic gene, it is possible to produce novel cuticular wax components that are transported to the surface.…”

Section: Biotechnology Of Plant Cuticlesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Monoacylglycerols Are Components of Root Waxes and Can Be Produced in the Aerial Cuticle by Ectopic Expression of a Suberin-Associated Acyltransferase

et al. 2007

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The interface between plants and the environment is provided for aerial organs by epicuticular waxes that have been extensively studied. By contrast, little is known about the nature, biosynthesis, and role of waxes at the root-rhizosphere interface. Waxes isolated by rapid immersion of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) roots in organic solvents were rich in saturated C18-C22 alkyl esters of p-hydroxycinnamic acids, but also contained significant amounts of both a-and b-isomers of monoacylglycerols with C22 and C24 saturated acyl groups and the corresponding free fatty acids. Production of these compounds in root waxes was positively correlated to the expression of sn-glycerol-3-P acyltransferase5 (GPAT5), a gene encoding an acyltransferase previously shown to be involved in aliphatic suberin synthesis. This suggests a direct metabolic relationship between suberin and some root waxes. Furthermore, when ectopically expressed in Arabidopsis, GPAT5 produced very-longchain saturated monoacylglycerols and free fatty acids as novel components of cuticular waxes. The crystal morphology of stem waxes was altered and the load of total stem wax compounds was doubled, although the major components typical of the waxes found on wild-type plants decreased. These results strongly suggest that GPAT5 functions in vivo as an acyltransferase to a glycerol-containing acceptor and has access to the same pool of acyl intermediates and/or may be targeted to the same membrane domain as that of wax synthesis in aerial organs.

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“…To this end, gene candidates for drought tolerance are now being expressed in lucerne. One of these is the WXP1 transgene responsible for production of cuticular wax and where 'proof of concept' experiments demonstrated that insertion of WXP1 increased lucerne's ability to be productive, and even recover more quickly, after periods of limited water (Zhang et al 2005).…”

Section: Drought Tolerancementioning

confidence: 99%

Breeding lucerne for persistence

Bouton¹

2012

Crop Pasture Sci.

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Cultivated lucerne is the most widely grown forage legume in pastoral agriculture. Persistence is critical for most pastoral production systems and its definition includes concepts of productivity, but maintenance of adequate plant numbers is essential. There were three important eras in lucerne persistence breeding: species introduction leading to local varieties and land races (adaptation), development of multiple pest-resistant, autumn dormancy-specific cultivars, and introducing complex traits and the use of biotechnologies. Today’s persistent cultivar needs, at a minimum, adaptation, proper autumn dormancy, and targeted pest resistances. Adding complex, ‘persistence-limiting’ traits to these minimum base traits, such as tolerance to grazing, acid, aluminum-toxic soils, and drought, is successfully being achieved via traditional selection, but biotechnologies and inter-specific hybridisations are also being employed in some cases. The main issues around biotechnologies are public perception and regulatory issues which continue to hamper transgene deployment while genetic marker programs need to lower costs and concentrate on successful application. There is not one persistent ‘ideotype’ that will fill all situations, but specific ones need to be developed and targeted for geographies such as the subtropics. Finally, breeders need to understand what persistence traits lucerne producers are willing to pay a premium to obtain.

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Overexpression of WXP1, a putative Medicago truncatula AP2 domain‐containing transcription factor gene, increases cuticular wax accumulation and enhances drought tolerance in transgenic alfalfa (Medicago sativa)

Cited by 382 publications

References 71 publications

Wax Layers onCosmos bipinnatusPetals Contribute Unequally to Total Petal Water Resistance

Wax Layers onCosmos bipinnatusPetals Contribute Unequally to Total Petal Water Resistance

Monoacylglycerols Are Components of Root Waxes and Can Be Produced in the Aerial Cuticle by Ectopic Expression of a Suberin-Associated Acyltransferase

Breeding lucerne for persistence

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