Small GTP-binding protein PdRanBP regulates vascular tissue development in poplar

BACKGROUND: Previous research has demonstrated that ectopic expression of Ran-binding protein (RanBP) in Arabidopsis results in more axillary buds and reduced apical dominance compared to WT plants. However, the function of RanBP in poplar, which has very typical secondary growth, remains unclear. Here, the Populus deltoides (Marsh.) RanBP gene (PdRanBP) was isolated and functionally characterized by ectopic expression in a hybrid poplar (P. davidiana Dode × P. bolleana Lauche). RESULTS: PdRanBP was predominantly expressed in leaf buds and tissues undergoing secondary wall expansion, including immature xylem and immature phloem in the stem. Overexpression of PdRanBP in poplar increased the number of sylleptic branches and the proportion of cells in the G2 phase of the cell cycle, retarded plant growth, consistently decreased the size of the secondary xylem and secondary phloem zones, and reduced the expression levels of cell wall biosynthesis genes. The downregulation of PdRanBP facilitated secondary wall expansion and increased stem height, the sizes of the xylem and phloem zones, and the expression levels of cell wall biosynthesis genes. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that PdRanBP influences the apical and radial growth of poplar trees and that PdRanBP may regulate cell division during cell cycle progression. Taken together, our results demonstrated that PdRanBP is a nuclear, vascular tissue development-associated protein in P. deltoides. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12863-016-0403-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.