Abstract
Developmental genes (DG)/ morphogenic genes are involved in enhancing the transformation and regeneration of plants. One such DG is the WUSCHEL (WUS) gene, a homeodomain transcription factor, and is involved in the stem cell maintenance of shoot apical meristem (SAM). In dicots, ectopic expression of WUS induced the embryogenic calli formation and organogenesis. On the other, WUS overexpression resulted in pleiotropic effects in most of the monocots. Also, very few dicots failed to regenerate due to the overexpression of WUS. In our study, the 35S driven WUS (AtWUS) gene expressing transgenic rice plants were generated. All the transgenic plants with the WUS (W) gene along with the vector (V) and untransformed (U) lines were confirmed by detailed Southern analyses. The single-copy W and V plants with complete T-DNA were taken for detailed analyses. The W plants exhibited few phenotypic changes such as thick stem, reduction in the internode length, enclosed panicle, unopen flower, pale yellow colour of the anther, and loss of viable pollens compared to the U and V plants. Interestingly, crown root formation and small vein formation in the leaves were detected in the W plants. The expression of the WUS gene was confirmed by RT-PCR analysis in the W plants. The seeds from the hemizygous plants showed enhanced embryogenic calli formation and attained early regeneration compared to U and V plants thereby confirming the role of the WUS gene in embryogenesis and regeneration.
Highlights
Developmental genes (DGs) known as morphogenic genes are involved in plant transformation and regeneration through a variety of mechanisms such as embryogenesis and organogenesis [1]
Somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration can be increased by the exogenous supply of hormones which would reprogramme the fate of the cell [2]
The efficient transformation relies on embryogenic calli formation and regeneration through somatic embryogenesis
Summary
Developmental genes (DGs) known as morphogenic genes are involved in plant transformation and regeneration through a variety of mechanisms such as embryogenesis and organogenesis [1]. Many TFs play a major role in plant regeneration and determine the fate of the cell under epigenetic [8,9,10,11], hormone-induced [12], or stress-induced conditions [13, 14]. Among the different categories of the TFs, the TFs encoded by homeobox genes play a major role in regulating plant development and determining the cell fate. These homeobox TFs have at least 2 domains: one for recognition and binding, and the other for organizing additional proteins involved in transcription. In Arabidopsis, the embryonic cell identity was maintained by the WUS gene
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
