Association of T2/S-RNase With Self-Incompatibility of Japanese Citrus Accessions Examined by Transcriptomic, Phylogenetic, and Genetic Approaches.

Several citrus varieties show gametophytic self-incompatibility (GSI), which can contribute to seedless fruit production in several cultivars. This study investigated the genes regulating this trait through RNA-seq performed using styles collected from the flowers of Japanese citrus cultivars 'Hyuganatsu,' 'Tosabuntan,' 'Hassaku,' 'Banpeiyu,' and 'Sweet Spring'. We screened the transcripts of putative T2 RNases, i.e., the protein family including all S-RNases from S-RNase-based GSI plants, and constructed a phylogenetic tree using the screened T2 RNases and S-RNases retrieved from citrus genome databases and a public database. Three major clusters (class I-III) were formed, among which, the class III cluster contained family specific subclusters formed by S-RNase and a citrus-specific cluster monophyletic to the S-RNase clusters. From the citrus class III cluster, six transcripts were consistent with the S haplotypes previously determined in Japanese citrus accessions, sharing characteristics such as isoelectric point, extracellular localization, molecular weight, intron number and position, and tissue-specific expression with S-RNases. One T2 RNase gene in self-incompatible Hyuganatsu was significantly down-regulated in the styles of a self-compatible mutant of Hyuganatsu in RNA-seq and qPCR analyses. In addition, the inheritance pattern of some T2 RNase genes was consistent with the pattern of the S haplotype in the progeny population of Hyuganatsu and Tosabuntan. As all results supported citrus self-incompatibility being based on S-RNase, we believe that six T2 RNase genes were S-RNases. The homology comparison between the six T2 RNases and S-RNases recently reported in Chinese citrus revealed that three out of six T2 RNases were identical to S-RNases from Chinese citrus. Thus, the other three T2 RNases were finally concluded to be novel citrus S-RNases involved in self-incompatibility.

Effect of the CLE14 polypeptide on GLABRA2 homolog gene expression in rice and tomato roots.

The CLAVATA3/ESR (CLE) plant polypeptides act as peptide hormones in various physiological and developmental aspects in a diverse array of land plants. One of the CLE family of genes, CLE14, is reported to induce root hair formation in Arabidopsis thaliana roots. Previously, we demonstrated that the application of synthetic CLE14 polypeptide treatment induced excess root hairs, and reduced the expression level of the non-hair cell fate determinant gene, GLABRA2 (GL2) in Arabidopsis roots. In this study, we investigated the function of synthetic CLE14 polypeptide in rice (Oryza sativa) and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) roots. We measured the expression levels of the OsGL2 and SlGL2 genes, i.e., homologs of the Arabidopsis GL2 gene, in rice and tomato seedlings, respectively. Although CLE14 polypeptide treatment induced excess root hair formation in rice roots, substantial root hair induction was not observed in tomato roots. However, the CLE14 polypeptide treatment significantly inhibited the expression of the GL2 homolog genes of rice (OsGL2) and tomato (SlGL2). Our findings thus indicated that CLE14 can inhibit the GL2 gene expression in both rice and tomato plants, similar to the effect seen in Arabidopsis.

CLE14 peptide signaling in Arabidopsis root hair cell fate determination.

Morphological adjustment is a critical strategy for the survival of plant species in various environments. The CLE (CLAVATA3/EMBRYO SURROUNDING REGION) family of plant polypeptides is known to play important roles in various physiological and developmental processes and the relevant signaling pathways are conserved in diverse land plants. Previously, it has been suggested that overexpression of CLE14 promotes root hair cell differentiation in Arabidopsis roots. To clarify this suggested function of CLE14 peptide on root hair induction, we examined the effect of synthetic CLE14 peptide on Arabidopsis root hair development. Consistent with the results of previous overexpression analyses of CLE14, we demonstrated that application of synthetic CLE14 peptide induced excess root hair formation on CLE14-treated Arabidopsis roots. In addition, CLE14 reduced the expression of the non-hair cell fate determinant gene, GLABRA2. Our results thus indicate that CLE14 can activate the transcriptional regulatory cascade of root hair formation.

Single-pollen genotyping to estimate mode of unreduced pollen formation in Citrus tamurana cv. Nishiuchi Konatsu.

KEY MESSAGE: 2n pollen formed by FDR in citrus. The Japanese local citrus cultivar, Nishiuchi Konatsu (Citrus tamurana hort. ex Tanaka; NK hereafter), has the ability to produce unreduced 2n pollen grains, allowing generation of polyploid progenies via sexual polyploidization. In this study, we developed a method of single-pollen genotyping for citrus and applied it to the analysis of transmission of heterozygosity in NK 2n pollen grains. Heterozygosity transmission was expressed as the percentage inheritance of a set of heterozygous alleles from the parent to the 2n gamete. The pathway of 2n pollen development was investigated by applying the observed heterozygosity transmission and genetic distance to two different map functions, for first division restitution (FDR) and second division restitution (SDR). The fit of the values observed for both functions was calculated, while virtually moving the centromere position. We screened for six heterozygous SSR (codominant microsatellite marker loci) in NK, all of which were expected to lie within the same linkage group. Pollen germination prior to DNA extraction was essential for this work, and 6-h incubation proved to be optimal for subsequent PCR amplification. Single-pollen genotyping unreduced NK 2n pollen grains revealed that heterozygosity transmission exceeded 50 % in all six alleles, and fitness tests indicated that the FDR map function better fitted the heterozygosity transmission observed rather than the SDR function. Our data thus strongly indicate that 2n pollen in NK is a result of first division restitution.

CLAVATA3-like genes are differentially expressed in grape vine (Vitis vinifera) tissues.

The CLAVATA3 (CLV3)/endosperm surrounding region [(ESR) CLE] peptides function as intercellular signaling molecules that regulate various physiological and developmental processes in diverse plant species. We identified five CLV3-like genes from grape vine (Vitis vinifera var. Pinot Noir): VvCLE 6, VvCLE 25-1, VvCLE 25-2, VvCLE 43 and VvCLE TDIF. These CLV3-like genes encode short proteins containing 43-128 amino acids. Except VvCLE TDIF, grape vine CLV3-like proteins possess a consensus amino acid sequence known as the CLE domain. Phylogenic analysis suggests that the VvCLE 6, VvCLE25-1, VvCLE25-2 and VvCLE43 genes have evolved from a single common ancestor to the Arabidopsis CLV3 gene. Expression analyses showed that the five grape CLV3-like genes are expressed in leaves, stems, roots and axillary buds with significant differences in their levels of expression. For example, while all of them were strongly expressed in axillary buds, VvCLE6 and VvCLE43 expression prevailed in roots, and VvCLE25-1, VvCLE25-2 and VvCLE TDIF expression in stems. The differential expression of the five grape CLV3-like peptides suggests that they play different roles in different organs and developmental stages.

Molecular characterization of tree peony germplasm using sequence-related amplified polymorphism markers.

This study examined 63 tree peony specimens, consisting of 3 wild species and 63 cultivars, using sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers for the purpose of detecting genomic polymorphisms. Bulk DNA samples from each specimen were evaluated with 23 SRAP primer pairs. Among the 296 different amplicons, 262 were polymorphic. The maximum parsimony, neighbor-joining, and unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic average trees were largely in congruence. In the three trees, the wild species Paeonia ludlowii and P. delavayi formed separate clusters with strong bootstrap support, and P. ostii was closely related to all cultivars. The cultivars were divided into groups with various corresponding bootstrap values. The genetic similarity among the genotypes ranged from 0.02 to 0.73. These results demonstrate that SRAP markers are effective in detecting genomic polymorphisms in the tree peony and should be useful for linkage map construction and molecular marker assisted selection breeding.

Auxin-dependent regulation of lateral root positioning in the basal meristem of Arabidopsis.

In plants, the developmental mechanisms that regulate the positioning of lateral organs along the primary root are currently unknown. We present evidence on how lateral root initiation is controlled in a spatiotemporal manner in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. First, lateral roots are spaced along the main axis in a regular left-right alternating pattern that correlates with gravity-induced waving and depends on AUX1, an auxin influx carrier essential for gravitropic response. Second, we found evidence that the priming of pericycle cells for lateral root initiation might take place in the basal meristem, correlating with elevated auxin sensitivity in this part of the root. This local auxin responsiveness oscillates with peaks of expression at regular intervals of 15 hours. Each peak in the auxin-reporter maximum correlates with the formation of a consecutive lateral root. Third, auxin signaling in the basal meristem triggers pericycle cells for lateral root initiation prior to the action of INDOLE-3-ACETIC ACID14 (SOLITARY ROOT).

Engineered sorbitol accumulation induces dwarfism in Japanese persimmon.

A cDNA encoding sorbitol-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (S6PDH), which is a key enzyme in sorbitol biosynthesis in Rosaceae, was introduced into the Japanese persimmon (Diospyros kaki) to increase the environmental stress tolerance. Resultant transformants exhibited salt-tolerance with dwarfing phenotypes. Therefore, we studied two transgenic lines to understand the physiological mechanism of this dwarfism: lines PS1 and PS6 accumulated high and moderate levels of sorbitol, respectively. The average length of shoots was significantly shorter as compared with the wild-type in line PS1, while no such decrease was observed in line PS6. The myo-inositol and glucose 6-phosphate (G6P) contents were measured in the transgenic lines because previous work with tobacco transformed with S6PDH had suggested that growth inhibition was due to depletion of these metabolites. Although the myo-inositol content was decreased in PS1 plants, the decrease was much smaller than that observed in transgenic tobacco that accumulates sorbitol. The G6P contents were the same in PS1 plants and phenotypically normal PS6 plants. The level of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), which affects stem elongation, in line PS1 was similar to the levels in the other lines. A decrease in gibberellin (GA) content generally induces dwarfism in plants. However, GA was not decreased in PS1 plants compared with wild-type or control plants. Therefore, we focused on sorbitol accumulation as the most remarkable feature of PS1 plants. As one possibility, the observed growth inhibition was likely caused by an osmotic imbalance between the cytosol and vacuole.