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Zhao B, Wang JW. Perenniality: From model plants to applications in agriculture. MOLECULAR PLANT 2024; 17:141-157. [PMID: 38115580 DOI: 10.1016/j.molp.2023.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
To compensate for their sessile nature, plants have evolved sophisticated mechanisms enabling them to adapt to ever-changing environments. One such prominent feature is the evolution of diverse life history strategies, particularly such that annuals reproduce once followed by seasonal death, while perennials live longer by cycling growth seasonally. This intrinsic phenology is primarily genetic and can be altered by environmental factors. Although evolutionary transitions between annual and perennial life history strategies are common, perennials account for most species in nature because they survive well under year-round stresses. This proportion, however, is reversed in agriculture. Hence, perennial crops promise to likewise protect and enhance the resilience of agricultural ecosystems in response to climate change. Despite significant endeavors that have been made to generate perennial crops, progress is slow because of barriers in studying perennials, and many developed species await further improvement. Recent findings in model species have illustrated that simply rewiring existing genetic networks can lead to lifestyle variation. This implies that engineering plant life history strategy can be achieved by manipulating only a few key genes. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of genetic basis of perenniality and discuss major questions and challenges that remain to be addressed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Zhao
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences (CEMPS), Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology (SIPPE), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Jia-Wei Wang
- National Key Laboratory of Plant Molecular Genetics, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences (CEMPS), Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology (SIPPE), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Shanghai 200032, China; School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China; Key Laboratory of Plant Carbon Capture, CAS, Shanghai 200032, China; New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, Shanghai 200032, China.
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2
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Sun S, Wang X, Liu Z, Bai J, Song J, Li R, Cui X. Tomato APETALA2 family member SlTOE1 regulates inflorescence branching by repressing SISTER OF TM3. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 192:293-306. [PMID: 36747310 PMCID: PMC10152655 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiad075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Revised: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Inflorescence architecture directly impacts yield potential in most crops. As a model of sympodial plants, tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) inflorescence exhibits highly structural plasticity. However, the genetic regulatory network of inflorescence architecture in tomato remains unclear. Here, we investigated a modulator of inflorescence branching in tomato, TARGET OF EAT1 (SlTOE1), an APETALA2 (AP2) family member found to be predominantly expressed in the floral meristem (FM) of tomato. sltoe1 knockout mutants displayed highly branched inflorescences and defective floral organs. Transcriptome analysis revealed that SISTER OF TM3 (STM3) and certain floral development-related genes were upregulated in the flower meristem of sltoe1. SlTOE1 could directly bind the promoters of STM3 and Tomato MADS-box gene 3 (TM3) to repress their transcription. Simultaneous mutation of STM3 and TM3 partially restored the inflorescence branching of the sltoe1cr mutants, suggesting that SlTOE1 regulates inflorescence development, at least in part through an SlTOE1STM3/TM3 module. Genetic analysis showed that SlTOE1 and ENHANCER OF JOINTLESS 2 (EJ2) additively regulate tomato inflorescence branching; their double mutants showed more extensive inflorescence branching. Our findings uncover a pathway controlling tomato inflorescence branching and offer deeper insight into the functions of AP2 subfamily members.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuai Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Sino-Dutch Joint Laboratory of Horticultural Genomics, China Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Xiaotian Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Sino-Dutch Joint Laboratory of Horticultural Genomics, China Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Zhiqiang Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Sino-Dutch Joint Laboratory of Horticultural Genomics, China Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Jingwei Bai
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Sino-Dutch Joint Laboratory of Horticultural Genomics, China Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Jia Song
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Sino-Dutch Joint Laboratory of Horticultural Genomics, China Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Ren Li
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Sino-Dutch Joint Laboratory of Horticultural Genomics, China Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
| | - Xia Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Sino-Dutch Joint Laboratory of Horticultural Genomics, China Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
- Key Laboratory of Quality and Safety Control for Subtropical Fruit and Vegetable, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Horticulture Science, Zhejiang A&F University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 311300, China
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Hjertaas AC, Preston JC, Kainulainen K, Humphreys AM, Fjellheim S. Convergent evolution of the annual life history syndrome from perennial ancestors. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2023; 13:1048656. [PMID: 36684797 PMCID: PMC9846227 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.1048656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 11/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Despite most angiosperms being perennial, once-flowering annuals have evolved multiple times independently, making life history traits among the most labile trait syndromes in flowering plants. Much research has focused on discerning the adaptive forces driving the evolution of annual species, and in pinpointing traits that distinguish them from perennials. By contrast, little is known about how 'annual traits' evolve, and whether the same traits and genes have evolved in parallel to affect independent origins of the annual syndrome. Here, we review what is known about the distribution of annuals in both phylogenetic and environmental space and assess the evidence for parallel evolution of annuality through similar physiological, developmental, and/or genetic mechanisms. We then use temperate grasses as a case study for modeling the evolution of annuality and suggest future directions for understanding annual-perennial transitions in other groups of plants. Understanding how convergent life history traits evolve can help predict species responses to climate change and allows transfer of knowledge between model and agriculturally important species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ane C. Hjertaas
- Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Biosciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
| | - Jill C. Preston
- Department of Plant Biology, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, United States
| | - Kent Kainulainen
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Aelys M. Humphreys
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Siri Fjellheim
- Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Biosciences, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Ås, Norway
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4
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Jaudal M, Mayo‐Smith M, Poulet A, Whibley A, Peng Y, Zhang L, Thomson G, Trimborn L, Jacob Y, van Wolfswinkel JC, Goldstone DC, Wen J, Mysore KS, Putterill J. MtING2 encodes an ING domain PHD finger protein which affects Medicago growth, flowering, global patterns of H3K4me3, and gene expression. THE PLANT JOURNAL : FOR CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2022; 112:1029-1050. [PMID: 36178149 PMCID: PMC9828230 DOI: 10.1111/tpj.15994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Revised: 09/04/2022] [Accepted: 09/24/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Flowering of the reference legume Medicago truncatula is promoted by winter cold (vernalization) followed by long-day photoperiods (VLD) similar to winter annual Arabidopsis. However, Medicago lacks FLC and CO, key regulators of Arabidopsis VLD flowering. Most plants have two INHIBITOR OF GROWTH (ING) genes (ING1 and ING2), encoding proteins with an ING domain with two anti-parallel alpha-helices and a plant homeodomain (PHD) finger, but their genetic role has not been previously described. In Medicago, Mting1 gene-edited mutants developed and flowered normally, but an Mting2-1 Tnt1 insertion mutant and gene-edited Mting2 mutants had developmental abnormalities including delayed flowering particularly in VLD, compact architecture, abnormal leaves with extra leaflets but no trichomes, and smaller seeds and barrels. Mting2 mutants had reduced expression of activators of flowering, including the FT-like gene MtFTa1, and increased expression of the candidate repressor MtTFL1c, consistent with the delayed flowering of the mutant. MtING2 overexpression complemented Mting2-1, but did not accelerate flowering in wild type. The MtING2 PHD finger bound H3K4me2/3 peptides weakly in vitro, but analysis of gene-edited mutants indicated that it was dispensable to MtING2 function in wild-type plants. RNA sequencing experiments indicated that >7000 genes are mis-expressed in the Mting2-1 mutant, consistent with its strong mutant phenotypes. Interestingly, ChIP-seq analysis identified >5000 novel H3K4me3 locations in the genome of Mting2-1 mutants compared to wild type R108. Overall, our mutant study has uncovered an important physiological role of a plant ING2 gene in development, flowering, and gene expression, which likely involves an epigenetic mechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauren Jaudal
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of AucklandPrivate Bag 92019Auckland1142New Zealand
| | - Matthew Mayo‐Smith
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of AucklandPrivate Bag 92019Auckland1142New Zealand
| | - Axel Poulet
- Yale UniversityDepartment of MolecularCellular and Developmental BiologyFaculty of Arts and Sciences260 Whitney AvenueNew HavenCT06511USA
| | - Annabel Whibley
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of AucklandPrivate Bag 92019Auckland1142New Zealand
| | - Yongyan Peng
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of AucklandPrivate Bag 92019Auckland1142New Zealand
| | - Lulu Zhang
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of AucklandPrivate Bag 92019Auckland1142New Zealand
| | - Geoffrey Thomson
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of AucklandPrivate Bag 92019Auckland1142New Zealand
- Yale UniversityDepartment of MolecularCellular and Developmental BiologyFaculty of Arts and Sciences260 Whitney AvenueNew HavenCT06511USA
| | - Laura Trimborn
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of AucklandPrivate Bag 92019Auckland1142New Zealand
- Institute for Plant Sciences, BiocenterUniversity of CologneZülpicher Str. 47b50674CologneGermany
| | - Yannick Jacob
- Yale UniversityDepartment of MolecularCellular and Developmental BiologyFaculty of Arts and Sciences260 Whitney AvenueNew HavenCT06511USA
| | - Josien C. van Wolfswinkel
- Yale UniversityDepartment of MolecularCellular and Developmental BiologyFaculty of Arts and Sciences260 Whitney AvenueNew HavenCT06511USA
| | - David C. Goldstone
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of AucklandPrivate Bag 92019Auckland1142New Zealand
| | - Jiangqi Wen
- Institute for Agricultural BiosciencesOklahoma State University3210 Sam Noble ParkwayArdmoreOK73401USA
| | - Kirankumar S. Mysore
- Institute for Agricultural BiosciencesOklahoma State University3210 Sam Noble ParkwayArdmoreOK73401USA
| | - Joanna Putterill
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of AucklandPrivate Bag 92019Auckland1142New Zealand
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Viñegra de la Torre N, Vayssières A, Obeng-Hinneh E, Neumann U, Zhou Y, Lázaro A, Roggen A, Sun H, Stolze SC, Nakagami H, Schneeberger K, Timmers T, Albani MC. FLOWERING REPRESSOR AAA + ATPase 1 is a novel regulator of perennial flowering in Arabis alpina. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2022; 236:729-744. [PMID: 35832005 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Arabis alpina is a polycarpic perennial, in which PERPETUAL FLOWERING1 (PEP1) regulates flowering and perennial traits in a vernalization-dependent manner. Mutagenesis screens of the pep1 mutant established the role of other flowering time regulators in PEP1-parallel pathways. Here we characterized three allelic enhancers of pep1 (eop002, 085 and 091) which flower early. We mapped the causal mutations and complemented mutants with the identified gene. Using quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR and reporter lines, we determined the protein spatiotemporal expression patterns and localization within the cell. We also characterized its role in Arabidopsis thaliana using CRISPR and in A. alpina by introgressing mutant alleles into a wild-type background. These mutants carried lesions in an AAA+ ATPase of unknown function, FLOWERING REPRESSOR AAA+ ATPase 1 (AaFRAT1). AaFRAT1 was detected in the vasculature of young leaf primordia and the rib zone of flowering shoot apical meristems. At the subcellular level, AaFRAT1 was localized at the interphase between the endoplasmic reticulum and peroxisomes. Introgression lines carrying Aafrat1 alleles required less vernalization to flower and reduced number of vegetative axillary branches. By contrast, A. thaliana CRISPR lines showed weak flowering phenotypes. AaFRAT1 contributes to flowering time regulation and the perennial growth habit of A. alpina.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natanael Viñegra de la Torre
- Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Str. 47b, 50674, Cologne, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné Weg 10, 50829, Cologne, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences "From Complex Traits towards Synthetic Modules", 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Alice Vayssières
- Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Str. 47b, 50674, Cologne, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné Weg 10, 50829, Cologne, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences "From Complex Traits towards Synthetic Modules", 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Evelyn Obeng-Hinneh
- Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Str. 47b, 50674, Cologne, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné Weg 10, 50829, Cologne, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences "From Complex Traits towards Synthetic Modules", 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Ulla Neumann
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné Weg 10, 50829, Cologne, Germany
| | - Yanhao Zhou
- Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Str. 47b, 50674, Cologne, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné Weg 10, 50829, Cologne, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences "From Complex Traits towards Synthetic Modules", 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Ana Lázaro
- Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Str. 47b, 50674, Cologne, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné Weg 10, 50829, Cologne, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences "From Complex Traits towards Synthetic Modules", 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Adrian Roggen
- Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Str. 47b, 50674, Cologne, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné Weg 10, 50829, Cologne, Germany
| | - Hequan Sun
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné Weg 10, 50829, Cologne, Germany
| | - Sara C Stolze
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné Weg 10, 50829, Cologne, Germany
| | - Hirofumi Nakagami
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné Weg 10, 50829, Cologne, Germany
| | - Korbinian Schneeberger
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné Weg 10, 50829, Cologne, Germany
| | - Ton Timmers
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné Weg 10, 50829, Cologne, Germany
| | - Maria C Albani
- Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Zülpicher Str. 47b, 50674, Cologne, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Carl-von-Linné Weg 10, 50829, Cologne, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences "From Complex Traits towards Synthetic Modules", 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany
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6
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Debernardi JM, Woods DP, Li K, Li C, Dubcovsky J. MiR172-APETALA2-like genes integrate vernalization and plant age to control flowering time in wheat. PLoS Genet 2022; 18:e1010157. [PMID: 35468125 PMCID: PMC9037917 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Plants possess regulatory mechanisms that allow them to flower under conditions that maximize reproductive success. Selection of natural variants affecting those mechanisms has been critical in agriculture to modulate the flowering response of crops to specific environments and to increase yield. In the temperate cereals, wheat and barley, the photoperiod and vernalization pathways explain most of the natural variation in flowering time. However, other pathways also participate in fine-tuning the flowering response. In this work, we integrate the conserved microRNA miR172 and its targets APETALA2-like (AP2L) genes into the temperate grass flowering network involving VERNALIZATION 1 (VRN1), VRN2 and FLOWERING LOCUS T 1 (FT1 = VRN3) genes. Using mutants, transgenics and different growing conditions, we show that miR172 promotes flowering in wheat, while its target genes AP2L1 (TaTOE1) and AP2L5 (Q) act as flowering repressors. Moreover, we reveal that the miR172-AP2L pathway regulates FT1 expression in the leaves, and that this regulation is independent of VRN2 and VRN1. In addition, we show that the miR172-AP2L module and flowering are both controlled by plant age through miR156 in spring cultivars. However, in winter cultivars, flowering and the regulation of AP2L1 expression are decoupled from miR156 downregulation with age, and induction of VRN1 by vernalization is required to repress AP2L1 in the leaves and promote flowering. Interestingly, the levels of miR172 and both AP2L genes modulate the flowering response to different vernalization treatments in winter cultivars. In summary, our results show that conserved and grass specific gene networks interact to modulate the flowering response, and that natural or induced mutations in AP2L genes are useful tools for fine-tuning wheat flowering time in a changing environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan M. Debernardi
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Daniel P. Woods
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Kun Li
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Chengxia Li
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Jorge Dubcovsky
- Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis, California, United States of America
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States of America
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7
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Li Z, Lathe RS, Li J, He H, Bhalerao RP. Towards understanding the biological foundations of perenniality. TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 27:56-68. [PMID: 34561180 DOI: 10.1016/j.tplants.2021.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2021] [Revised: 08/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/25/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Perennial life cycles enable plants to have remarkably long lifespans, as exemplified by trees that can live for thousands of years. For this, they require sophisticated regulatory networks that sense environmental changes and initiate adaptive responses in their growth patterns. Recent research has gradually elucidated fundamental mechanisms underlying the perennial life cycle. Intriguingly, several conserved components of the floral transition pathway in annuals such as Arabidopsis thaliana also participate in these regulatory mechanisms underpinning perenniality. Here, we provide an overview of perennials' physiological features and summarise their recently discovered molecular foundations. We also highlight the importance of deepening our understanding of perenniality in the development of perennial grain crops, which are promising elements of future sustainable agriculture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zheng Li
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilisation of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Research Centre for Perennial Rice Engineering and Technology of Yunnan, School of Agriculture, Yunnan University, 650091 Kunming, China.
| | - Rahul S Lathe
- Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Jinping Li
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilisation of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Research Centre for Perennial Rice Engineering and Technology of Yunnan, School of Agriculture, Yunnan University, 650091 Kunming, China
| | - Hong He
- State Key Laboratory for Conservation and Utilisation of Bio-Resources in Yunnan, Research Centre for Perennial Rice Engineering and Technology of Yunnan, School of Agriculture, Yunnan University, 650091 Kunming, China
| | - Rishikesh P Bhalerao
- Umeå Plant Science Centre, Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-901 87 Umeå, Sweden.
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8
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Mapar M, Chopra D, Stephan L, Schrader A, Sun H, Schneeberger K, Albani M, Coupland G, Hülskamp M. Genetic and Molecular Analysis of Root Hair Development in Arabis alpina. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:767772. [PMID: 34721494 PMCID: PMC8554057 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.767772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/23/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Root hair formation in Arabidopsis thaliana is a well-established model system for epidermal patterning and morphogenesis in plants. Over the last decades, many underlying regulatory genes and well-established networks have been identified by thorough genetic and molecular analysis. In this study, we used a forward genetic approach to identify genes involved in root hair development in Arabis alpina, a related crucifer species that diverged from A. thaliana approximately 26-40 million years ago. We found all root hair mutant classes known in A. thaliana and identified orthologous regulatory genes by whole-genome or candidate gene sequencing. Our findings indicate that the gene-phenotype relationships regulating root hair development are largely conserved between A. thaliana and A. alpina. Concordantly, a detailed analysis of one mutant with multiple hairs originating from one cell suggested that a mutation in the SUPERCENTIPEDE1 (SCN1) gene is causal for the phenotype and that AaSCN1 is fully functional in A. thaliana. Interestingly, we also found differences in the regulation of root hair differentiation and morphogenesis between the species, and a subset of root hair mutants could not be explained by mutations in orthologs of known genes from A. thaliana. This analysis provides insight into the conservation and divergence of root hair regulation in the Brassicaceae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mona Mapar
- Botanical Institute, Biocenter, Cologne University, Cologne, Germany
| | - Divykriti Chopra
- Botanical Institute, Biocenter, Cologne University, Cologne, Germany
| | - Lisa Stephan
- Botanical Institute, Biocenter, Cologne University, Cologne, Germany
| | - Andrea Schrader
- Botanical Institute, Biocenter, Cologne University, Cologne, Germany
| | - Hequan Sun
- Faculty of Biology, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | | | - Maria Albani
- Botanical Institute, Biocenter, Cologne University, Cologne, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany
| | - George Coupland
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany
| | - Martin Hülskamp
- Botanical Institute, Biocenter, Cologne University, Cologne, Germany
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9
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Wötzel S, Andrello M, Albani MC, Koch MA, Coupland G, Gugerli F. Arabis alpina: A perennial model plant for ecological genomics and life-history evolution. Mol Ecol Resour 2021; 22:468-486. [PMID: 34415668 PMCID: PMC9293087 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2021] [Revised: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Many model organisms were chosen and achieved prominence because of an advantageous combination of their life‐history characteristics, genetic properties and also practical considerations. Discoveries made in Arabidopsis thaliana, the most renowned noncrop plant model species, have markedly stimulated studies in other species with different biology. Within the family Brassicaceae, the arctic–alpine Arabis alpina has become a model complementary to Arabidopsis thaliana to study the evolution of life‐history traits, such as perenniality, and ecological genomics in harsh environments. In this review, we provide an overview of the properties that facilitated the rapid emergence of A. alpina as a plant model. We summarize the evolutionary history of A. alpina, including genomic aspects, the diversification of its mating system and demographic properties, and we discuss recent progress in the molecular dissection of developmental traits that are related to its perennial life history and environmental adaptation. From this published knowledge, we derive open questions that might inspire future research in A. alpina, other Brassicaceae species or more distantly related plant families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Wötzel
- Institute of Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Goethe University Frankfurt and Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Frankfurt (Main), Germany
| | - Marco Andrello
- Institute for the Study of Anthropic Impacts and Sustainability in the Marine Environment, National Research Council, CNR-IAS, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria C Albani
- Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Marcus A Koch
- Biodiversity and Plant Systematics, Centre for Organismal Studies (COS), Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - George Coupland
- Department of Plant Development Biology, MPI for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany
| | - Felix Gugerli
- WSL Swiss Federal Research Institute, Birmensdorf, Switzerland
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10
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Soppe WJJ, Viñegra de la Torre N, Albani MC. The Diverse Roles of FLOWERING LOCUS C in Annual and Perennial Brassicaceae Species. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2021; 12:627258. [PMID: 33679840 PMCID: PMC7927791 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.627258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2020] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Most temperate species require prolonged exposure to winter chilling temperatures to flower in the spring. In the Brassicaceae, the MADS box transcription factor FLOWERING LOCUS C (FLC) is a major regulator of flowering in response to prolonged cold exposure, a process called vernalization. Winter annual Arabidopsis thaliana accessions initiate flowering in the spring due to the stable silencing of FLC by vernalization. The role of FLC has also been explored in perennials within the Brassicaceae family, such as Arabis alpina. The flowering pattern in A. alpina differs from the one in A. thaliana. A. alpina plants initiate flower buds during vernalization but only flower after subsequent exposure to growth-promoting conditions. Here we discuss the role of FLC in annual and perennial Brassicaceae species. We show that, besides its conserved role in flowering, FLC has acquired additional functions that contribute to vegetative and seed traits. PERPETUAL FLOWERING 1 (PEP1), the A. alpina FLC ortholog, contributes to the perennial growth habit. We discuss that PEP1 directly and indirectly, regulates traits such as the duration of the flowering episode, polycarpic growth habit and shoot architecture. We suggest that these additional roles of PEP1 are facilitated by (1) the ability of A. alpina plants to form flower buds during long-term cold exposure, (2) age-related differences between meristems, which enable that not all meristems initiate flowering during cold exposure, and (3) differences between meristems in stable silencing of PEP1 after long-term cold, which ensure that PEP1 expression levels will remain low after vernalization only in meristems that commit to flowering during cold exposure. These features result in spatiotemporal seasonal changes of PEP1 expression during the A. alpina life cycle that contribute to the perennial growth habit. FLC and PEP1 have also been shown to influence the timing of another developmental transition in the plant, seed germination, by influencing seed dormancy and longevity. This suggests that during evolution, FLC and its orthologs adopted both similar and divergent roles to regulate life history traits. Spatiotemporal changes of FLC transcript accumulation drive developmental decisions and contribute to life history evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Natanael Viñegra de la Torre
- Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, “SMART Plants for Tomorrow’s Needs,” Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Maria C. Albani
- Institute for Plant Sciences, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences, “SMART Plants for Tomorrow’s Needs,” Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
- *Correspondence: Maria C. Albani, ;
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