Expression analysis of cellulose synthase-like genes in durum wheat

Ilaria Marcotuli,Pasqualina Colasuonno,Agata Gadaleta,Antonio Blanco

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-34013-6

Ilaria Marcotuli, Pasqualina Colasuonno + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-34013-6

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Abstract

Cellulose synthase-like CslF and CslH genes have been implicated in the biosynthesis of β-glucans, a major cell wall constituents in grasses and cereals. The low β-glucan content of durum wheat and lack of information of the biosynthesis pathway make the expression analysis in different developmental stages of grain endosperm an interesting tool for the crop genetic improvement. Specific genome sequences of wheat CslF6 and CslH were isolated and the genomic sequence and structure were analysed in the cv. Svevo. In starchy endosperm at five developmental stages (6, 12, 21, 28 and 40 days after pollination) CslF6 and CslH transcripts were differentially expressed. A peak of CslF6 transcription occurred at 21 dap, while CslH was abundant at 28 dap. Significant variations were detected for both the genes in the genotypes. Significant and positive correlation were detected between β-glucan content and CslF6 gene expression at 21 dap and 40 dap, while no significant correlation was observed for CslH gene. On the overall, our correlation analysis reflected data from previous studies on other species highlighting how the abundance of transcripts encoding for CslF6 and CslH enzymes were not necessarily a good indicator of enzyme activity and/or β-glucan deposition in cell wall.

Highlights

Cellulose synthase-like CslF and CslH genes have been implicated in the biosynthesis of β-glucans, a major cell wall constituents in grasses and cereals
It has been demonstrated that the superfamily Csl is responsible for the synthesis of several plant cell wall polysaccharides and includes subfamilies from A to H, each of which consists of multiple genes[7]
When Arabidopsis was transformed with the OsCslF6 gene, mixed-linkage glucan was detected in the cell wall indicated that CslF6 was capable of synthesizing beta glucan[6,13]

Summary

Introduction

Cellulose synthase-like CslF and CslH genes have been implicated in the biosynthesis of β-glucans, a major cell wall constituents in grasses and cereals. It has been demonstrated that the superfamily Csl is responsible for the synthesis of several plant cell wall polysaccharides and includes subfamilies from A to H, each of which consists of multiple genes[7]. The CslB and CslG subfamilies are found only in dicotyledons and gymnosperms, whereas the CslF and CslH groups are found only in monocotyledons[10], which regulate directly or indirectly the abundance and the fine structure of β-glucans in both grain and the other part of the plant[11]. Burton et al.[11] reported that the over-expression of a CslF gene, under the control of an endosperm-specific promoter, resulted in the increase of β-glucan content and a dramatic decrease of starch in the transgenic grain. Chromosomes 1H (HvCslF9) and 7H (HvCslF6) corresponding to quantitative trait loci (QTL) for grain β-glucan content[14]

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