ABSTRACT
Glycine Rich Proteins (GRPs) are induced at different developmental stages and in specific plant tissues. Recently, we described a novel Arabidopsis gene encoding a short glycine-rich domain protein (AtGRDP1). This gene is involved in abiotic stress responsiveness; the Atgrdp1-null mutant seeds were more sensitive to stress, while the opposite phenotype was achieved by AtGRDP1 overexpression. In this study, we analyzed the phenotype of the fruits produced by Arabidopsis Atgrdp1 mutants and 35S::AtGRDP1 overexpression lines. Our analyses revealed important changes in silique length, seed number, seed weight and morphology in the analyzed lines. In particular, Atgrdp1 mutant lines exhibited several defects including short siliques, a diminished number of seeds per silique, and a reduction in seed size and weight as compared to Col-0. The overexpression of the AtGRDP1 gene also generated phenotypes with alterations in size of silique, number of seeds per silique, and size and weight of the seed. In addition, the expression analysis of AtGRDP1 gene showed that it was expressed in floral and fruit organs, with the highest expression level in mature siliques. The alterations in the siliques and seeds traits in the Atgrdp1 mutant line, as well as the phenotypes observed in AtGRDP1 overexpression lines, suggest a role of the AtGRDP1 gene in the Arabidopsis fruit development.
Subject(s)
Arabidopsis Proteins/genetics , Arabidopsis/genetics , Fruit/genetics , Gene Expression Regulation, Plant , Seeds/genetics , Adaptation, Physiological , Arabidopsis/anatomy & histology , Arabidopsis/growth & development , Arabidopsis/metabolism , Arabidopsis Proteins/metabolism , Fruit/anatomy & histology , Fruit/growth & development , Fruit/metabolism , Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental , Mutation , Organ Specificity , Phenotype , Protein Isoforms/genetics , Protein Isoforms/metabolism , Quantitative Trait, Heritable , Seeds/anatomy & histology , Seeds/growth & development , Seeds/metabolism , Stress, PhysiologicalABSTRACT
The high demand for less polluting, newer, and cheaper fuel resources has increased the search of the most innovative options for the production of the so-called biofuels. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is a photosynthetic unicellular algae with multiple biotechnological advantages such as easy handling in the laboratory, a simple scale-up to industrial levels, as well as a feasible genetic modification at nuclear and chloroplast levels. Besides, its fatty acids can be used to produce biofuels. Previous studies in plants have found that the over expression of DOF-type transcription factor genes increases the synthesis and the accumulation of total lipids in seeds. In this context, the over-expression of a DOF-type transcription factor in C. reinhardtii was applied as approach to increase the amount of lipids. The results indicate higher amounts (around 2-fold) of total lipids, which are mainly fatty acids, in the genetically C. reinhardtii modified strains when compared with the non-genetically modified strain. In order to elucidate the possible function of the introduced Dof-type transcription factor, we performed a transcription profile of 8 genes involved in fatty acid biosynthesis and 6 genes involved in glycerolipid biosynthesis, by quantitative real time (qRT-PCR). Differential expression profile was observed, which can explain the increase in lipid accumulation. However, these strains did not show notable changes in the fatty acid profile. This work represents an early effort in generating a strategy to increase fatty acids production in C. reinhardtii and their use in biofuel synthesis.
