Transcriptomic changes reveal gene networks responding to the overexpression of a blueberry DWARF AND DELAYED FLOWERING 1 gene in transgenic blueberry plants

BMC Plant Biology

Research Article

Guo-qing Song¹  Xuan Gao² 

[1] Plant Biotechnology Resource and Outreach Center, Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, 48824, East Lansing, MI, USA;Plant Biotechnology Resource and Outreach Center, Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, 48824, East Lansing, MI, USA;Key Laboratory for the Conservation and Utilization of Important Biological Resources, College of Life Sciences, Anhui Normal University, 241000, Wuhu, China;

关键词: Abiotic stress;    Cold hardness;    C-repeat-binding factor;    DDF1;    Dehydration responsive element-binding factor;    Freezing tolerance;    Vaccinium corymbosum;    Woody plant;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12870-017-1053-z

 received in 2016-11-26, accepted in 2017-06-06,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundConstitutive expression of the CBF/DREB1 for increasing freezing tolerance in woody plants is often associated with other phenotypic changes including dwarf plant and delayed flowering. These phenotypic changes have been observed when Arabidopsis DWARF AND DELAYED FLOWERING 1 (DDF1) was overexpressed in A. thaliana plants. To date, the DDF1 orthologues have not been studied in woody plants. The aim of this study is to investigate transcriptomic responses to the overexpression of blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum) DDF1 (herein, VcDDF1-OX).ResultsThe VcDDF1-OX resulted in enhanced freezing tolerance in tetraploid blueberry plants and did not result in significant changes in plant size, chilling requirement, and flowering time. Comparative transcriptome analysis of transgenic ‘Legacy-VcDDF1-OX’ plants containing an overexpressed VcDDF1 with non-transgenic highbush blueberry ‘Legacy’ plants revealed the VcDDF1-OX derived differentially expressed (DE) genes and transcripts in the pathways of cold-response, plant flowering, DELLA proteins, and plant phytohormones. The increase in freezing tolerance was associated to the expression of cold-regulated genes (CORs) and the ethylene pathway genes. The unchanged plant size, dormancy and flowering were due to the minimal effect of the VcDDF1-OX on the expression of DELLA proteins, flowering pathway genes, and the other phytohormone genes related to plant growth and development. The DE genes in auxin and cytokinin pathways suggest that the VcDDF1-OX has also altered plant tolerance to drought and high salinity.ConclusionA DDF1 orthologue in blueberry functioned differently from the DDF1 reported in Arabidopsis. The overexpression of VcDDF1 or its orthologues is a new approach to increase freezing tolerance of deciduous woody plant species with no obvious effect on plant size and plant flowering time.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017