ClRTL1 Encodes a Chinese Fir RNase III-Like Protein Involved in Regulating Shoot Branching.

Xia Li,Jisen Shi,Ye Lu,Renhua Zheng,Guangxin Liu,Liming Bian,Jinhui Chen,Qian Su

doi:10.3390/ijms161025691

Abstract

Identification of genes controlling shoot branching is crucial for improving plant architecture and increasing crop yield or biomass. A branching mutant of Chinese fir named “Dugansha” (Cunninghamia lanceolata var. dugan.) has been isolated in our laboratory. We chose the cDNA-AFLP technique and an effective strategy to screen genes that potentially regulate shoot branching in Chinese fir using this mutant. An RNase III-like1 cDNA fragment named ClRTL1 was identified as a potential positive regulator. To investigate the function of ClRTL1 in regulating shoot branching, we cloned the full-length cDNA sequence from C. lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook, deduced its secondary structure and function, and overexpressed the coding sequence in Arabidopsis. The ClRTL1 cDNA is 1045 bp and comprises an open reading frame of 705 bp. It encodes a protein of 235 amino acids. The deduced secondary structure of the ClRTL1 indicates that it is a mini-RNase III-like protein. The expression analysis and phenotypes of 35S: ClRTL1 in A. thaliana implies that ClRTL1 plays a role in promoting shoot branching in Chinese fir.

Highlights

Shoot branching is important for the establishment of plant architecture and is a key factor in plant yield or biomass allocation
The cDNA-AFLP technique was applied to isolate genes involved in shoot branching of Chinese fir
Since the homolog of ClRTL1 in Arabidopsis, Dicer-liker1 (DCL1), has been reported to affect shoot branching [21,27], we focused on further investigating the function of this gene in Chinese fir

Summary

Introduction

Shoot branching is important for the establishment of plant architecture and is a key factor in plant yield (crops) or biomass allocation (trees). Identification of genes controlling shoot branching is crucial because these genes are key targets that can be manipulated to improve plant architecture and increase crop yield or biomass [3]. Several genes regulating shoot branching have been identified in various species, such as Arabidopsis, tomato, rice, tobacco, maize, pea, and petunia. The GRAS family of transcription factors includes members that are critical switches in the development of axillary meristems (AMs) such as LATERAL SUPPRESSOR (LS) in tomato, LATERAL SUPPRESSOR in Arabidopsis (LAS), and its rice ortholog MONOCULM1 (MOC1) [4,5,6]

Results

Discussion

Conclusion