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Curci PL, Zhang J, Mähler N, Seyfferth C, Mannapperuma C, Diels T, Van Hautegem T, Jonsen D, Street N, Hvidsten TR, Hertzberg M, Nilsson O, Inzé D, Nelissen H, Vandepoele K. Identification of growth regulators using cross-species network analysis in plants. PLANT PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 190:2350-2365. [PMID: 35984294 PMCID: PMC9706488 DOI: 10.1093/plphys/kiac374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
With the need to increase plant productivity, one of the challenges plant scientists are facing is to identify genes that play a role in beneficial plant traits. Moreover, even when such genes are found, it is generally not trivial to transfer this knowledge about gene function across species to identify functional orthologs. Here, we focused on the leaf to study plant growth. First, we built leaf growth transcriptional networks in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), maize (Zea mays), and aspen (Populus tremula). Next, known growth regulators, here defined as genes that when mutated or ectopically expressed alter plant growth, together with cross-species conserved networks, were used as guides to predict novel Arabidopsis growth regulators. Using an in-depth literature screening, 34 out of 100 top predicted growth regulators were confirmed to affect leaf phenotype when mutated or overexpressed and thus represent novel potential growth regulators. Globally, these growth regulators were involved in cell cycle, plant defense responses, gibberellin, auxin, and brassinosteroid signaling. Phenotypic characterization of loss-of-function lines confirmed two predicted growth regulators to be involved in leaf growth (NPF6.4 and LATE MERISTEM IDENTITY2). In conclusion, the presented network approach offers an integrative cross-species strategy to identify genes involved in plant growth and development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pasquale Luca Curci
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
- VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
- Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources, National Research Council (CNR), Via Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy
| | - Jie Zhang
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
- VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Niklas Mähler
- Department of Plant Physiology, Umea Plant Science Centre (UPSC), Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Carolin Seyfferth
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
- VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
- Department of Plant Physiology, Umea Plant Science Centre (UPSC), Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Chanaka Mannapperuma
- Department of Plant Physiology, Umea Plant Science Centre (UPSC), Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Tim Diels
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
- VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Tom Van Hautegem
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
- VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - David Jonsen
- SweTree Technologies AB, Skogsmarksgränd 7, SE-907 36 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Nathaniel Street
- Department of Plant Physiology, Umea Plant Science Centre (UPSC), Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Torgeir R Hvidsten
- Department of Plant Physiology, Umea Plant Science Centre (UPSC), Umeå University, 90187 Umeå, Sweden
- Faculty of Chemistry, Biotechnology and Food Science, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 1432 Ås, Norway
| | - Magnus Hertzberg
- SweTree Technologies AB, Skogsmarksgränd 7, SE-907 36 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Ove Nilsson
- Department of Forest Genetics and Plant Physiology, Umea Plant Science Centre (UPSC), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, 90183 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Dirk Inzé
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
- VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Hilde Nelissen
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
- VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
| | - Klaas Vandepoele
- Department of Plant Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Ghent University, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
- VIB Center for Plant Systems Biology, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
- Bioinformatics Institute Ghent, Ghent University, Technologiepark 71, 9052 Ghent, Belgium
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