Physiological and Anatomical Differences and Differentially Expressed Genes Reveal Yellow Leaf Coloration in Shumard Oak

Abstract

Shumard oak (Quercus shumardii Buckley) is a traditional foliage plant, but little is known about its regulatory mechanism of yellow leaf coloration. Here, the yellow leaf variety of Q. shumardii named ‘Zhongshan Hongjincai’ (identified as ‘ZH’ throughout this work) and a green leaf variety named ‘Shumard oak No. 23’ (identified as ‘SO’ throughout this work) were compared. ‘ZH’ had lower chlorophyll content and higher carotenoid content; photosynthetic characteristics and chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were also lower. Moreover, the mesophyll cells of ‘ZH’ showed reduced number of chloroplasts and some structural damage. In addition, transcriptomic analysis identified 39,962 differentially expressed genes, and their expression levels were randomly verified. Expressions of chlorophyll biosynthesis-related glumly-tRNA reductase gene and Mg-chelatase gene were decreased, while pheophorbide a oxygenase gene associated with chlorophyll degradation was up-regulated in ‘ZH’. Simultaneously, carotenoid isomerase gene, z-carotene desaturase gene, violaxanthin de-epoxidase gene and zeaxanthin epoxidase gene involved in carotenoid biosynthesis were up-regulated in ‘ZH’. These gene expression changes were accompanied by decreased chlorophyll content and enhanced carotenoid accumulation in ‘ZH’. Consequently, changes in the ratio of carotenoids to chlorophyll could be driving the yellow leaf coloration in Q. shumardii.

Cytological and Transcriptomic Analysis Provide Insights into the Formation of Variegated Leaves in Ilex × altaclerensis ‘Belgica Aurea’

“…Similar results were also found in the variegated leaves of Phalaenopsis aphrodite subsp. formosana [ 21 ], leaves of Ginkgo biloba gold-colored mutant and yellow leaf of Quercus shumardii Buckley [ 22 , 23 ].…”

Cia Zeaxanthin Biosynthesis, OsZEP and OsVDE Regulate Striped Leaves Occurring in Response to Deep Transplanting of Rice

“…Mutants of ZEP and VDE have been found in various plants, including Arabidopsis npq1 , npq2 , tomato hp3 , and microalgae lhcx1 [ 56 , 57 , 58 ]. The downregulation of ZEP is often accompanied by excessive accumulation of zeaxanthin and shows reduced levels of downstream metabolites such as ABA [ 59 ].…”

Graphene Oxide as an Effective Soil Water Retention Agent Can Confer Drought Stress Tolerance to Paeonia ostii without Toxicity

“…Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect gene expression levels with a BIO-RAD CFX Connect Optics Module (Bio-Rad, Des Plaines, IL, U.S.A.), and their values were calculated referring to the 2 –ΔΔCt comparative threshold cycle ( C t ) method . Total RNAs were extracted using a MiniBEST Plant RNA Extraction Kit (TaKaRa, Japan).…”

“…qRT-PCR was performed using the SYBR Premix Ex Taq (Perfect Real Time) (TaKaRa, Japan) and contained 12.5 μL 2 × SYBR Premix Ex Taq, 2 μL cDNA solution, 2 μL mix solution of target gene primers, and 8.5 μL ddH 2 O in a final volume of 25 μL. The amplification was carried out under the following conditions: 95 °C for 30 s, 40 cycles at 95 °C for 5 s, 52 °C for 30 s, and 72 °C for 30 s. , All used primers were listed in Table S1 of the Supporting Information (SI).…”

“…Then, they were treated with 100% acetone solution (15 min) and acetone solution containing anhydrous sodium sulfate (15 min), infiltrated with Spurr resin and hardened at 70 °C for 24 h. Sections (70 nm thick) were cut with a diamond knife using a Leica EM UC6 ultramicrotome (Leica Co., Austria) and stained with 1% uranyl acetate in 70% methanol and 1% lead citrate Gene Expression Analysis. Quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was used to detect gene expression levels with a BIO-RAD CFX Connect Optics Module (Bio-Rad, Des Plaines, IL, U.S.A.), 32 and their values were calculated referring to the 2 −ΔΔCt comparative threshold cycle (C t ) method. 33 Total RNAs were extracted using a MiniBEST Plant RNA Extraction Kit (TaKaRa, Japan).…”