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WAPO-A1 is the causal gene of the 7AL QTL for spikelet number per spike in wheat

Improving our understanding of the genes regulating grain yield can contribute to the development of more productive wheat varieties. Previously, a highly significant QTL affecting spikelet number per spike (SNS), grain number per spike (GNS) and grain yield was detected on chromosome arm 7AL in mul...

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Autores principales: Kuzay, Saarah, Lin, Huiqiong, Li, Chengxia, Chen, Shisheng, Woods, Daniel P., Zhang, Junli, Lan, Tianyu, von Korff, Maria, Dubcovsky, Jorge
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8791482/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35025863
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1009747
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author Kuzay, Saarah
Lin, Huiqiong
Li, Chengxia
Chen, Shisheng
Woods, Daniel P.
Zhang, Junli
Lan, Tianyu
von Korff, Maria
Dubcovsky, Jorge
author_facet Kuzay, Saarah
Lin, Huiqiong
Li, Chengxia
Chen, Shisheng
Woods, Daniel P.
Zhang, Junli
Lan, Tianyu
von Korff, Maria
Dubcovsky, Jorge
author_sort Kuzay, Saarah
collection PubMed
description Improving our understanding of the genes regulating grain yield can contribute to the development of more productive wheat varieties. Previously, a highly significant QTL affecting spikelet number per spike (SNS), grain number per spike (GNS) and grain yield was detected on chromosome arm 7AL in multiple genome-wide association studies. Using a high-resolution genetic map, we established that the A-genome homeolog of WHEAT ORTHOLOG OF APO1 (WAPO-A1) was a leading candidate gene for this QTL. Using mutants and transgenic plants, we demonstrate in this study that WAPO-A1 is the causal gene underpinning this QTL. Loss-of-function mutants wapo-A1 and wapo-B1 showed reduced SNS in tetraploid wheat, and the effect was exacerbated in wapo1 combining both mutations. By contrast, spikes of transgenic wheat plants carrying extra copies of WAPO-A1 driven by its native promoter had higher SNS, a more compact spike apical region and a smaller terminal spikelet than the wild type. Taken together, these results indicate that WAPO1 affects SNS by regulating the timing of terminal spikelet formation. Both transgenic and wapo1 mutant plants showed a wide range of floral abnormalities, indicating additional roles of WAPO1 on wheat floral development. Previously, we found three widespread haplotypes in the QTL region (H1, H2 and H3), each associated with particular WAPO-A1 alleles. Results from this and our previous study show that the WAPO-A1 allele in the H1 haplotype (115-bp deletion in the promoter) is expressed at significantly lower levels in the developing spikes than the alleles in the H2 and H3 haplotypes, resulting in reduced SNS. Field experiments also showed that the H2 haplotype is associated with the strongest effects in increasing SNS and GNS (H2>H3>H1). The H2 haplotype is already present in most modern common wheat varieties but is rare in durum wheat, where it might be particularly useful to improve grain yield.
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spelling pubmed-87914822022-01-27 WAPO-A1 is the causal gene of the 7AL QTL for spikelet number per spike in wheat Kuzay, Saarah Lin, Huiqiong Li, Chengxia Chen, Shisheng Woods, Daniel P. Zhang, Junli Lan, Tianyu von Korff, Maria Dubcovsky, Jorge PLoS Genet Research Article Improving our understanding of the genes regulating grain yield can contribute to the development of more productive wheat varieties. Previously, a highly significant QTL affecting spikelet number per spike (SNS), grain number per spike (GNS) and grain yield was detected on chromosome arm 7AL in multiple genome-wide association studies. Using a high-resolution genetic map, we established that the A-genome homeolog of WHEAT ORTHOLOG OF APO1 (WAPO-A1) was a leading candidate gene for this QTL. Using mutants and transgenic plants, we demonstrate in this study that WAPO-A1 is the causal gene underpinning this QTL. Loss-of-function mutants wapo-A1 and wapo-B1 showed reduced SNS in tetraploid wheat, and the effect was exacerbated in wapo1 combining both mutations. By contrast, spikes of transgenic wheat plants carrying extra copies of WAPO-A1 driven by its native promoter had higher SNS, a more compact spike apical region and a smaller terminal spikelet than the wild type. Taken together, these results indicate that WAPO1 affects SNS by regulating the timing of terminal spikelet formation. Both transgenic and wapo1 mutant plants showed a wide range of floral abnormalities, indicating additional roles of WAPO1 on wheat floral development. Previously, we found three widespread haplotypes in the QTL region (H1, H2 and H3), each associated with particular WAPO-A1 alleles. Results from this and our previous study show that the WAPO-A1 allele in the H1 haplotype (115-bp deletion in the promoter) is expressed at significantly lower levels in the developing spikes than the alleles in the H2 and H3 haplotypes, resulting in reduced SNS. Field experiments also showed that the H2 haplotype is associated with the strongest effects in increasing SNS and GNS (H2>H3>H1). The H2 haplotype is already present in most modern common wheat varieties but is rare in durum wheat, where it might be particularly useful to improve grain yield. Public Library of Science 2022-01-13 /pmc/articles/PMC8791482/ /pubmed/35025863 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1009747 Text en © 2022 Kuzay et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Kuzay, Saarah
Lin, Huiqiong
Li, Chengxia
Chen, Shisheng
Woods, Daniel P.
Zhang, Junli
Lan, Tianyu
von Korff, Maria
Dubcovsky, Jorge
WAPO-A1 is the causal gene of the 7AL QTL for spikelet number per spike in wheat
title WAPO-A1 is the causal gene of the 7AL QTL for spikelet number per spike in wheat
title_full WAPO-A1 is the causal gene of the 7AL QTL for spikelet number per spike in wheat
title_fullStr WAPO-A1 is the causal gene of the 7AL QTL for spikelet number per spike in wheat
title_full_unstemmed WAPO-A1 is the causal gene of the 7AL QTL for spikelet number per spike in wheat
title_short WAPO-A1 is the causal gene of the 7AL QTL for spikelet number per spike in wheat
title_sort wapo-a1 is the causal gene of the 7al qtl for spikelet number per spike in wheat
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8791482/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35025863
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1009747
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