BnERF114.A1, a Rapeseed Gene Encoding APETALA2/ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR, Regulates Plant Architecture through Auxin Accumulation in the Apex in Arabidopsis.

Jinyang Lyu,Haibo Yu,Lijian Guo,Yuan Guo,Xinfa Wang,Li Liu,Huixian Zhao,Chunlei Du,Shengwu Hu

doi:10.3390/ijms23042210

Abstract

Plant architecture is crucial for rapeseed breeding. Here, we demonstrate the involvement of BnERF114.A1, a transcription factor for ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR (ERF), in the regulation of plant architecture in Brassica napus. BnERF114.A1 is a member of the ERF family group X-a, encoding a putative 252-amino acid (aa) protein, which harbours the AP2/ERF domain and the conserved CMX-1 motif. BnERF114.A1 is localised to the nucleus and presents transcriptional activity, with the functional region located at 142–252 aa of the C-terminus. GUS staining revealed high BnERF114.A1 expression in leaf primordia, shoot apical meristem, leaf marginal meristem, and reproductive organs. Ectopic BnERF114.A1 expression in Arabidopsis reduced plant height, increased branch and silique number per plant, and improved seed yield per plant. Furthermore, in Arabidopsis, BnERF114.A1 overexpression inhibited indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) efflux, thus promoting auxin accumulation in the apex and arresting apical dominance. Therefore, BnERF114.A1 probably plays an important role in auxin-dependent plant architecture regulation.

Highlights

Since the “Green Revolution” of wheat and rice in the 1960s, which substantially increased crop yield, much attention has been paid to the improvement of plant architecture for enhancing the seed yield of rapeseed
BnERF114.A1 may have been derived from BrERF114.A2 (Figure S1A)
Phylogenetic analysis of BnERF114s and all Arabidopsis ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR (ERF) family members showed that BnERF114s are orthologues of AtERF114 (Figure S1B) and belong to the subgroup X-a of the APETALA2/ETHYLENE RESPONSE FACTOR (AP2/ERF) superfamily [24]

Summary

Introduction

Since the “Green Revolution” of wheat and rice in the 1960s, which substantially increased crop yield, much attention has been paid to the improvement of plant architecture for enhancing the seed yield of rapeseed (canola, Brassica napus L.). With the rapid development of the national economy and transfer of a large volume of the rural labour force to urban areas, agricultural farming methods warrant urgent revision. In this light, simplification and mechanisation have become the major targets of rapeseed breeding and industrial development in China [5]. Traits related to the branch habit of rapeseed plants include branch position, angle, and number, which are important in the breeding of varieties suitable for mechanised farming [8]. The knowledge of rapeseed branch traits and their genetic regulatory mechanisms is fundamental to the genetic improvement of varieties for mechanical harvest

Methods

Results

Conclusion